


Monsters of Moonlight

by Ararouge



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:42:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 66,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22378165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ararouge/pseuds/Ararouge
Summary: Etheria, a world of chaotic magic is plagued by monsters.The worst of them being Hordak, Vampire Lord of the Fright Zone. With his army of witch hunters he plans to drain the magic from the planet and return to his castle in the stars.The Witches of Power, lead by the mythical hero SheRa, aim to stop him and his forces.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 100
Kudos: 161





	1. The Winter Solstice

**Author's Note:**

> I am slowly drawing all of the characters present in this work on my Instagram under the same user name.

Adora wasn’t sure she understood what she was seeing. She had seen so many new things since leaving the Fright Zone. She had relearned almost the entire world and was still awestruck by what it had to show her. But this… Witch’s Ball, was something else entirely!

The witches she had met, Glimmer, Mermista, and Perfuma were head over heels about it. It only happened every five years, uniting the magic in the kingdoms and celebrating the winter solstice. This year the Kingdom of Snow was hosting it, lead by Princess Frosta. 

Frosta was the youngest witch in the kingdoms to gain her powers, and she had decorated the entire ice ballroom herself. Glittering candelers reflected the lights around the room until everything seemed like a pale rainbow. The witches were all laughing and dancing on the dance floor, made of smooth ice with delicate carved swirls traced through it. It was all beautiful and beyond what Adora could ever have thought up.

Growing up in the Fright Zone and raised as a Witch Hunter she always imagined witches to be ugly creatures who stole magic from rune stones and used it to control Etheria. At least that's what she was taught. Witches used their magic to corrupt and control, burning up the planet and anyone who got in their way. She had wanted nothing more than to hunt them all down and bring them back to Shadow Weaver. She had taken pride in that. It was so simple then, with Catra.

She shook her head and stole another vial from the buffet table. It was filled with some glittering pink liquid that tasted like strawberries. She had made friends here, and though it wasn’t easy like before, it was the right thing to do. She walked up the stairs toward a balcony that overlooked the dance floor. She didn’t have the sword of power with her, and was stuck in a dress for the evening, it made her feel like a stranger in her own skin. She waved to Bow as she walked over and the young man grinned back at her.

“Hey Adora, enjoying the ball?”

“It’s… it’s different.” She said, looking out at the dancers. She gave him a weak smile. “Not really my scene.”

“I know, but trust me. Everyone needs a break now and then. The witch’s ball is a great time for all of us to recharge. No fighting, no monsters. It’s nice to relax.”

She knew that even in the Fright Zone the winter solstice was seen as a holiday. Work slowed down to a crawl and no troops were sent out. Lord Hordak never made plans of attack for the solstice and even though she wasn’t there any more she was sure that still held true. She and Catra had snuck out last year and spent the long night on a stolen skiff. It had been hell to pay with Shadow Weaver the next morning, but they wouldn’t have changed their minds if given a second chance. “I know there’s no fighting. But why exactly are their no monsters out?”

Bow pointed up at the high ceiling where there was glittering magic gathering. “Each solstice the witches gather the natural magic from Etheria and use it to replenish the land. I read that the influx of magic drives the monsters away.”

Adora nodded slowly, not understanding any of that but not wanting to hurt his feelings. “Right.”

Bow glanced behind her for a second and nearly squealed in joy as he grabbed her shoulders. “She’s here! She’s here!”

“Who-”

“No don’t look!”

“Bow... I don’t know anyone.”

“Princess Entrapta! She’s the leading scientist on Etheria!”

Adora blinked and turned her head anyway. “Scientist?” At the doorway she spotted a woman walking by herself, long lilac colored hair braided and pinned up in elaborate twists but still trailing to the floor. She was small, wearing a white dress with a purple top coat. “What does that mean? Isn’t she a witch?”

“No, she doesn’t have any magical powers.” Bow explained as he let her go.

“But she’s a Princess. I thought they were all witches.”

He shook his head. “Not Entrapta. She’s published all sorts of papers on the workings of magic. Glimmer’s even read some, she told me it was the most accurate and wordy explanation she had ever seen- which I take to mean that it’s the first accurate description of magic by a non witch!”

Adora gave another slow nod, but this time she was starting to understand. She and Bow weren’t magical. SheRa was, but Adora couldn’t quite explain what it was like to be her. If Entrapta didn’t have magic it was a feat in itself to understand it and write about it. “But… I don’t get it. In a world full of a bunch of magic users, who cares if we understand it? We still can’t use it… uh Bow?” He was looking at her with bright excited eyes.

“But we can!! Entrapta doesn’t just understand it, she can infuse non magical items with it! She’s created moving automatons! Weapons that blast magic bolts! I’ve based a lot of my arrows on her work.”

Well that made sense! Bow loved to invent new arrows to help them fight monsters. She had never heard of infusing but if Entrapta could do it then no wonder she was invited to the witch’s ball. “Do you, I don’t know, wanna say hello?”

Bow snapped out of his excited gaze and stood at attention. “What?! No, I- I couldn’t!”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him along. “Come on, I’m sure she’d love to meet someone else who invents.” She said as she pulled him along.

***

Down on the dance floor Glimmer was getting to spend time with her fellow witches that she hadn’t gotten to see as often as she would have liked. Mermista was the Princess of Salineas, but also a witch and a monster hunter. She used her magic to control water and turn into a mermaid. All of which was super cool! Glimmer wished her mother let her train as a monster hunter, but Angella was firmly against it. Mermista’s powers let her use the seas as a weapon, and fight off the monsters that threatened the coasts. Giant squids, sharks, sirens! It was all Glimmer dreamed about.

Perfuma was there too, happily dancing with them and the other witches from the magic academy. She wasn’t a monster hunter, but her kingdom Plumeria was closest to the Fright Zone. She used her magic to control plants and build mighty walls of thorns to protect her people and disrupt the Horde. Glimmer, Bow and SheRa had seen first hand what the witch could do when her people needed her, and it was a force of nature.

***

Entrapta watched the dancing from a distance. She wasn’t here for that sort of interacting. “Winter solstice log five, I have arrived at the witch’s ball in the kingdom of snows. As I suspected, Frosta as connected with the Fractal Flake. Evidenced by the magic around the main chamber of the hall. There are magic sigils etched into the dance floor-”

“Excuse me.”

Entrapta reached up quickly and pressed the button on her ear piece to stop her recording. She looked over at the pair. Two monster slayers in formal attire, one a young woman and the other male. She stared at them in confusion.

“I’m Adora and this is my friend Bow,” She pulled him forward. “He’s a huge fan of your work.”

“Y-yeah! I’ve built arrows using your infusion techniques and I’ve studied you’re work with magic bolts. It’s amazing how well you’ve been able to modify the spell without it losing stability.”

Entrapta smiled, relaxing slightly. She had come to the witch’s ball in hopes of monitoring Etherian interaction during the busiest social interaction of the year. It was a way to program her automatons to behave more fluidly. She had not expected to meet anyone here who knew who she was, let alone had an interest in her work. “I’ve found that the spell can be shaped with material components to prolong its durability.”

Adora took a few steps back as Bow and Entrapta started talking. She didn’t understand most of it, but she was glad her friend was happy. She looked around the ballroom again, thinking about stealing Glimmer away to hang out at the buffet table when she felt her heart stop. “Witch hunters.”

Bow and Entrapta stopped talking and looked over to where Adora was looking. “Catra and Scorpia? Why are they here?” He asked aloud, looking around the room to see if there were any other witch hunters making an appearance.

“I don’t know but I’m gonna find out-”

“By the rules and rights of the witch’s ball; there will be no ill will or fighting.” Entrapta piped up. She looked over the two witch hunters who were calmly making their way across the room toward the host. “If they’re here they must have been invited. The magic on the gates doesn’t let anyone without an invitation pass.”

“They must have faked one. I’m going talk to Frosta.” Adora rushed off through the crowd.

Bow looked nervous. “I’ll go find Glimmer!” He rushed onto the dance floor.

Entrapta looked between the pair as they split up and ran off. She tapped her ear piece again. “Winter solstice log five- no six! There are witch hunters at the witch’s ball! This is more exciting then my previous predictions estimated!” She said excitedly as she ran up the stairs to the balcony to get a better look.

***

“Heey Adora.” Catra cooed as the monster hunter reached the dais next to her.

Adora growled under her breath and tried to keep herself on track. She bowed to Princess Frosta. “Your highness, this is a witch hunter!” She stood up quickly, expecting to she shock on the young woman’s face. Instead she only looked mildly annoyed and bored.

“Under the rights of the witch’s ball, there will be no ill will or fighting. Princess Scorpia was invited.”

Adora looked back at the pair of witch hunters in shock and panicked. “But they’re up to something! They want to capture the witches and bring them back to the Fright Zone! You can’t let them stay here!”

“Witch hunters or not, they have an invitation.” Frosta said, a little louder this time.

“We would never go against the rights of the witch’s ball.” Catra said. “We’re just here to enjoy the solstice. Don’t you remember how to have fun Adora?”

She bristled at that but could do nothing as they walked away. This was going to be a disaster. People could get hurt! She needed to keep an eye on them before something truly bad happened.

***

Glimmer and Bow met her at the base of the steps, looking nervous. “What did Frosta say?” Glimmer asked, trying to keep an eye on Catra and Scorpia as they walk along the upstairs balcony.

“She said they had an invitation. She’s not kicking them out.” Adora grumbled, her eyes following the pair.

“Well… technically it’s the rules.” Bow said, trying to be the voice of reason. “I’ll help you keep an eye on them though. They can’t be planning anything good.”

“Alright. We split up and keep tabs on them. Can’t be too hard.” Adora agreed. Before she rushed off she felt Glimmer grab her arm.

“Are you alright Adora? Last time we met up with Catra she tried to kill you.” The witch said quietly. She didn’t want Adora to go off and get hurt. “I can keep an eye on her if you need me to. You should go look around and make sure no one else from the Fright Zone is hiding any where.”

Adora felt her shoulder’s slump. She had been trying hard not to think about their last meeting. Catra had lead a battle ship to Salineas and tried to tear through the seagate, she had attacked SheRa and sliced her up with her claws. Adora had tried so hard to forget about it but she hadn’t been prepared to see the magicat again. “I- I should but, I know Catra better than anyone. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Glimmer gave a sad nod. “Alright. I’ll go scope out the rest of the palace then.” 

They split up and Adora rushed up the stairs toward the balcony. 

***

Catra leaned against one of the ice pillars while Scorpia fixed herself another plate of crab puffs. She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to get here. They had walked right through the front gates! Into a magic castle! Her tail curled in satisfaction. They should have gone after the kingdom of Snows sooner! A young witch just brimming with new powers. She was so naive she had looked Adora square in the eye and told her they could stay! She nearly laughed when it happened.

“Hey Wildcat, you’ve got to try these!” Scorpia called over. She held up her full plate. “These are amazing! So good, I don’t know how they get so much flavor into something so tiny!”

Before she could reply Adora came marching toward them. She could almost see the fumes of rage coming off of her blonde hair. This was too perfect.

“I know you’re up to something!” She snapped. “You nearly destroyed the Seagate, or did you forget about that.”

“Come on, don’t you remember following orders? Being a good little soldier? Shadow Weaver still wants you back. She’s got those great big plans for you.” Catra stood up in a fluid motion and walked around the other woman, nearly purring. “The Fright Zone is growing, we both know that you’re little rebellion isn’t going to stop it.”

“What are you planning!?” Adora hissed at her.

“Planning? Me? I just came for a good time- and the crab puffs.”

“I’m not going to let you-”

“You should lighten up Monster Slayer, you’re gonna give yourself an ulcer.” She snorted and looked at Scorpia. “Anyway, we’re here to party. See you later Adora.” She cooed, slipping away toward the second set of stairs that lead up to the third floor. Scorpia took the hint and headed in the opposite direction toward the dance floor.

“Oh no.” Adora looked between them, wanting to run after Catra but not knowing what their plan was.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got Scorpia.” Bow called, rushing passed her.

She sighed in relief, rushing after the magicat.

***

Entrapta had found the perfect place to see the ball. The third floor had an ice sculpture that leaned over the railing. Two massive winged horses made of ice reared up facing each other, dressed in full armor of the kingdom and so life like it seemed they would breathe steam any moment. They supported the two chandeliers that were hanging over the dance floor. Entrapta had carefully climbed out onto one of the horses, confident in the strength of the magic that kept them together.

“Fascinating, the magic that’s holding these forms is so solid even my body heat isn’t melting it.” She carefully slipped off one of her gloves, touching the ice of the beast’s neck. “And it seems that it isn’t emitting any cooling. It must have a spell transcribed directly into it somewhere for the spell to hold so well. I wonder if it was hand carved and added later or if the water was shaped and then frozen. I really must see Princess Frosta use her magic in person before I can continue with my hypothesis.”

“Hello there.”

Entrapta looked upward and found a woman standing over her, carefully perched on the top of the horse’s head. “Oh hello. You’re the witch hunter.”

Catra grinned. “That I am. You know, if you really want to see how this ice magic works you should study the runestone.”

“I’ve studied a runestone before. The magic that circulates around it is so chaotic without a focus is useless to me. Though I haven’t seen this kingdom’s runestone before, perhaps it’s made of a similar molecular base as natural ice! Can you imagine the fractal magic waves that it must have?!”

Catra blinked. “Uhh… right.”

“Princess Entrapta!” Adora yelled, rushing over to the edge of the sculpture. She looked down at the three story drop and felt her stomach flop. She glared up at Catra who was poised carelessly above the scientist.

“Hi Adora! I was just using this higher vantage point to study the social movements of the witches.”

“Princess you need to get over here, it’s not safe out there.” She held out her hand.

Entrapta pulled on her glove and looked around as though she hadn’t thought of climbing over a balcony edge and sitting on an ice sculpture would have been unsafe. “I’m perfectly fine, I’ve had lots of practice climbing into my inventions, as long as I’m focused I won’t lose my footing.”

Catra slid down the horse’s mane to sit close to Entrapta. The princess jumped at the sudden impact and couldn’t pull away as the magicat wrapped an arm around her waist. “Don’t worry Adora, I’ve got her. I always land on my feet remember.”

“That is not statistically probable.” Entrapta mumbled, now aware that her ability to climb was severely hindered. She looked down at the dancers twirling below them and quickly ran an equation in her head. “Chances of injury from a fall of this height are ninety seven point six percent, and death is a seventy eight point four.”

“Catra! Let her go!” Adora reached for her sword but her hand wrapped around air. She cursed, remembering that the sword of power had been left with the other weapons at the door.

“Don’t worry princess, we’re not going down.” Catra said, tightening her hold around Entrapta. She got her leg up and pushed, jumping off of the sculpture to land heavily on the floor next to Adora. She let the purple haired woman go, her eyes locked on Adora.

“Oh, that was much faster than what I had in mind!” Entrapta said happily. “Magicats are some of the most agile Etherians on the planet, can I have a sample of your hair!?”

Catra’s ears pinned down and she took a step away from the shorter woman. “What?! No!”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot to add please.”

“Still no!” She yelped.

“Alright.” Entrapta turned back to the ice sculpture like nothing had happened and began looking for the spell that was holding it together.

Adora stepped forward between the two women. “Princess, you should be more careful.”

“I was fine, besides, I was able to gather so much data!”

“She’s a witch hunter!”

Entrapta turned back to Adora with a blank look.

“From the Horde… That’s trying to kill witches.”

“True, so maybe you should keep an eye on her, because she just left.”

Adora swirled around and sure enough Catra was gone. “Noooo!”

***

Bow hadn’t let Scorpia out of his sight. Everywhere she went, he followed. It wasn’t hard to keep the woman in view. She was nearly a head taller than everyone else and had large red scorpion claws instead of hands. Despite this, no one seemed to be shying away from her. Without her witch hunter uniform, only people who had seen her on the field of battle would know her. It made it hard to keep up with her as she walked through the dance floor.

“Hey Bow! Can I have this dance?”

Bow froze and his focus was lost as Perfuma popped up in front of him. “Uh, normally- I mean, I would like to, but-”

“Great!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him further into the mass of people.

He looked around but somehow she was gone. “Oh no…”

***

Adora rushed down stairs after searching the rest of the third floor. Catra was nowhere to be seen. “Adora!” She stopped as she heard her name and looked around, finding Glimmer rush over to her.

“What is it? Is it Catra? What happened?”

Glimmer paused, looking at her friend in concern. “You lost Catra?”

“Just for a second! It’s fine! Unless it’s not, what happened?”

“Adora calm down. I’m beginning to think Catra’s just here to stir you up. There’s no fighting on Solstice remember?” Glimmer patted her shoulder. “You did spend most of this morning and all day yesterday overthinking tonight. You might know Catra but she knows you too, she’s just playing you.”

Adora sighed. “But what if she really is up to something? People could get hurt.”

“There’s a whole palace full of witches, she wouldn’t stand a chance. Now come on, let’s find Bow and we’ll keep an eye out for trouble.” Glimmer offered her arm.

“Right. Let’s go!” Adora looped her arm through her friends as they headed down to the dance floor.

***

Bow stumbled off the dance floor as the song ended and frantically looked around but Scorpia was nowhere to be seen. He could only imagine the damage two witch hunters could do at the witch’s ball. He needed to find her before something went wrong!

“Bow!” Glimmer called over the music.

“Glimmer, Adora!” He made his way over to them. “I’m sorry, I lost Scorpia.”

Adora moaned and pinched her eyes shut. “Don’t feel bad I lost Catra. She was up on the third floor with Entrapta and I let her distract me. If only Princess Frosts would listen to me. Letting witch hunters in here is insane.”

“It might not be what we want, but Frosta is the youngest witch to get her powers. She’s probably under a lot of stress to keep up with the balls traditions.” Bow sighed.

Glimmer nodded. “Well, they can’t have disappeared. There are guards keeping eyes on most of the palace to keep the guests from roaming too far. And I didn’t see any other horde members.” 

The three friends looked at each other in unease. They had fought the horde first had and had seen the damage they could do. Both Perfuma and Mermista had been attacked recently, there was no telling what could happen in the kingdom of Snows.

“Why the long faces my mighty crew?”

Glimmer and Adora looked at each other and cringed. “Nooo.”

“Sea Hawk!” Bow cheered, wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders. “I didn’t expect to see you at the witch’s ball.”

“Nonsense, I am after all, Mermista’s plus one.” The sea captain said in a pleased tone. “She and I rode the stormy waves all the way from Salineas to the icebreaker pass. It was very romantic.”

There was a gagging nose. “Don’t get your hopes up. You’re my ride and that’s all.” Mermista grumbled. She crossed her arms and looked the group over. “Is this like a funeral? You all look really bummed out for winter solstice.”

“Catra’s here.” Adora said. “We saw her come in but she and Scorpia seemed to have disappeared.”

Mermista looked shocked. “Witch hunters?! Wait till I get my hands on them, they’re gonna pay for attacking the seagate!”

“Woah woah woah. I hate to remind you, but there’s no fighting at the ball.” Bow cut in.

“I’ll just drag them out side then!” Mermista hissed. 

“I guess that would be ok.” Bow said quietly, not wanting the woman’s rage turned on him.

“It doesn’t matter, we don’t know where they are.” Adora reminded. She looked around the room again but didn’t see any tails or claws.  
“Come on, there’s a viewing deck on the second floor.” Glimmer said, giving Adora’s arm a tug. “You can see straight out to the bay and I hear that the ice reflects the star light.”

The monster hunter gave her friend a small smile. She had been so worried about her dress and learning how to dance yesterday, and all of that paled in comparison to the witch hunters. Bow and Glimmer were right, they needed to enjoy the solstice. Before they could head toward the stairs the rainbow lights flashed and the dance floor was lit up. The three friends looked between each other and smiled, rushing into the crowd of dancers.

Adora measured her steps, remembering every note she had made about the dances with military accuracy. She pushed back her worries and focused on keeping her back straight and her steps even. She twirled Glimmer and took Perfuma’s hand, trading partners with Bow and spinning Mermista around. She reached back and felt a hand take hers.

“Heey Adora.” Catra pulled her back and wrapped an arm around her.

“Catra.” She glared back at her former friend.

“I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”

“What are you up to?”

Catra spun her around and dipped her back. “Honestly? I’m just the distraction.”

Before Adora could react there was a horrible noise that echoed out around the room. 

Ice breaking.

There was a scream and Catra let Adora go, dropping her on to the dance floor. People ran as the chandelier above them cracked and came hurtling down.

Adora stared in horror as time seemed to slow down, then everything turned into a swirl of light and Glimmer was there, grabbing her arm and teleporting them out of danger.

The ice crashed into the floor with deafening thunder. The musicians were running from the stage and witches were yelling in panic, trying to find friends and get off of the dance floor before the other chandelier broke and fell.

Princess Frosta could be heard over the noise, trying to calm everyone. “Please, there is no need to run! Please do not panic!” It did little good with so many people frightened.

Adora looked over the chandelier but she couldn’t tell if the ice had been sabotaged thought all of the wreckage. The shards of ice that splintered out from the crash has caused more harm and she could see more than one guest was injured. Bow was off to the side with Perfuma, trying to heal and bandage the wounded.

“I don’t understand, Frosta’s magic should be its most powerful tonight.” Glimmer explained. “Being this close to her runestone, on the night of the solstice, her ice magic should have held.”

Adora looked up toward the remaining chandelier. “I was up there before. Catra was on it.” She searched the room. “I don’t see her- we need to find her!”

“I can start a locating spell.” Glimmer pushed her hands together and sparks of light started to emanate from between her palms. They grew stronger and flashed, escaping into the air and flying off toward the stairs. “This way!”

Adora rushed after her, her eyes following the streak of glittering light as it lead them through the room and around groups of terrified people. She wanted to stop and check on them, she wanted to go back and get her sword, she just wanted this night to be over!  
They took the stairs two at a time and raced after the tracking spell. It’s glittering trail fading quickly and sputtering out. “What’s happening!?” Adora yelled.

“We must be getting close!” Glimmer looked around but there was no sign of the magicat. They rushed into the second floor viewing deck and the young witch stumbled to a halt in the archway. The deck was out in the open air, a magical barrier keeping the winds calm and a marble banister keeping guests safe from falling.

Catra looked up curiously as specks of glittering light fell about her shoulders as the tracking spell finally disappeared completely. She looked back and grinned as Glimmer and Adora blocked the doorway back into the palace. “Well, Sparkles, looks like you learned a new trick.”

Glimmer growled, flicking her wrists and igniting her hands in burning light. “You have a lot to answer for!”

Adora stepped forward between them. “You could have killed innocent people with that stunt-”

Catra roared with laughter. “Innocent? It’s a bunch of witches. None of them are innocent. Their magic drains Etheria and summons the monsters. You know that, you can’t just forget everything you learned in the Fright Zone. Even if you do have magic now… or wait… you don’t, SheRa does, and I don’t see her around.”

Adora snarled and rushed forward, throwing a punch at the magicat but Catra was too quick and easily moved aside. The monster hunter planted her feet and tried again, this time making two quick jabs. They had trained together through childhood and Adora knew if she wanted to stand a chance she would have to get in close so Catra couldn’t move. The witch hunter hissed, blocking the hits and striking out with her claws. She dropped suddenly and kicked out, knocking Adora’s legs out from under her.

Adora reached back over her head with her arms and caught herself, using the momentum and weight to push back and spring into a kick. She landed and spun around but didn’t raise her arms fast enough and Catra’s claws found her cheek. She hissed in pain and jerked back.

“Adora!” Glimmer yelled, distracting her from the fight. The pair fell apart, glaring daggers at one another. Just then from below the deck something flew up and blocked out the moon light. Adora stumbled back as the sound of charging weapons could be heard.  
The Horde aerocopter blasted at the magic shield around the viewing deck, sending out streaks of lightning each time. “I told you, I’m just the distraction.” Catra cooed as the shield finally failed and burst open.

Glimmer ran forward and grabbed Adora’s hand as the violent wind picked up and nearly blew her off her feet. Above them the Areocopter lowered itself. Through the glass of the cockpit Adora could see Scorpia at the controls, the sword of power resting in the seat next to her and Entrapta tied up in the back.

Catra pulled herself up easily to rest against the black metal. “I’ll see you later Princess!” She laughed.

Adora tried to jump and grab onto the bar but the aerocopter was already pulling up. Her fingers slipped past it and Glimmer grabbed onto her as she fell, teleporting them back inside to the safety of the archway.

“No! No no no no, Entrapta! She took her.” Adora’s voice broke and she felt like her whole body was freezing, the icy winds cutting through her. There was no telling what Shadow Weaver would do with the Princess.

“We’ll get her back.” Glimmer moaned sadly, tears already picking at her eyes. The Fright Zone was a death trap, filled with the Horde’s automaton bots and anti magic weapons. Her mother had been against her fighting the Horde in the kingdoms, there was no way she would let her go into enemy territory. No good would come from this. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold herself together from the pain of another loss.

“You’re right.” Adora said with chattering teeth. She looked at Glimmer with determination in her eyes. “I know the Fright Zone better than anyone, we will get Entrapta back!”


	2. The Fright Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Scorpia return to the Fright Zone with their prisoner.

Entrapta had never seen a Horde aerocopter up close before. The only one she had gotten her hands on was a hunk of melted metal after a crash, nothing to salvage there of its ancient technology. This one though, this one was as pristine as the Horde had! It’s black metal casing was designed to let the air around it slip off with the least amount of resistance. It was warm to the touch, vibrating as the gears in the engine turned. If she wiggled close to the glass window she could even see the heavy canvas wings gliding through the air. This was fascinating!

If only she wasn’t gagged and tied up. She glanced down at the metal cuffs on her wrists and turned her right arm as far as it would go and pushed down. Her lockpicks were still hidden inside of her glove and neither of the witch hunters were paying any attention to her. She slipped out a pick and carefully threaded it into the lock. A moment later there was a hollow click and one of the cuffs opened. She rubbed her wrist and picked the other lock, storing her tools away again before looking over the cuffs.

They were sturdy, but not very high tech. She almost felt insulted that they thought these would keep her bound. She turned them over and studied the inscription inside each cuff. A sipher to damper magic. Interesting. These might have kept a lock picking spell from working, but not the real things. She shrugged and pulled the gag over her mouth down around her neck then turned to look out of the window again.

Below her she could see the right side propeller. She wanted to know what metal they used to cut down wind resistance. The Horde was well known for having the largest collection of ancient tech on Etheria. She had studied the metals that made up the Fright Zone in length and found them corrosive to the land outside of it. It drained the magic from the land in a similar fashion to what the witch hunters claimed the witches did.

They dropped out of the thick cloud cover and Horde Castle came into view. It was the centerpiece of the Fright Zone, towering into the sky. It was built unlike anything Entrapta had ever seen before! While the main building spiraled up, buttresses launched off of it in dozens of directions, all leading to separate towers. Whole areas were built defying gravity and hanging precariously over the ground below. Far far below the Fright Zone glowed with dim red light from the underground magma she had read about. The heat and gasses it released were used to power the factories throughout the zone to compensate for the lack of sunlight due to the never ending clouds.

“Woooow…” She pressed her face to the glass, trying to see into the village around the base of the castle. Supposedly it was home to the rest of the Horde.

“Hey! How’d you get out of your bonds!?” Catra grabbed her arm painfully and slammed the cuffs back on to her wrists. She pulled the gag back up before Entrapta could answer.

“She must be a real powerful witch to get out of those.” Scorpia said as she piloted the Aerocopter down to a landing bay off of one of the castle towers.  
A witch? Entrapta looked between the two hunters in confusion.

“Yeah. The night wasn’t a total waste.” Catra purred. She reached over and pulled over a rapier. The hilt was gold with a blue gem embedded in it. “The sword of power is ours.”

“Who leaves a powerful magic relic in bag check?” Scorpia asked flatly. She shrugged. It had been easy enough to sneak in and take it. She looked back at Entrapta who was looking back at them. “But um, she wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Who cares! Shadow Weaver has been sending us after Adora again and again. We don’t need her, we have her sword and a princess. We accomplished more tonight than any of the troops sent out over the past months.”

“I guess so.” Scorpia said quietly, hoping she just wasn’t seeing a part of the plan and not that her friend had bitten off more than she could chew.

She landed the aerocopter and other members of the Horde were rushing out to cool it down. It was imperative that all aerocopters were maintained and kept in top form. Lord Hordak had designed and built them himself, letting anything happen to one would be a grave mistake.

Scorpia reached over and lifted Entrapta like she weighed nothing and put her over her shoulder. “So… where to first? Directly to Shadow Weaver?”

Carta snorted. “No, she’s just going to take all of the credit. This time, we go straight to Lord Hordak.”

Entrapta looked back as she was carried away from the aerocopter, it was a real shame she didn’t have more time with it! She had made plenty of prototype flying crafts, all of them based heavily on spells she had researched. But that was a flying machine with antimagic capabilities, just out of her reach and getting farther!

As they walked away she took notice of the lack of wind around them. Overhead the thick clouds were swirling violently, the wind speeds on the landing bay should have been dangerous but no one seemed to even blink at it as they walked around. Her long purple hair wasn’t even swaying from a breeze. She struggled to get a better look around but Scorpia held her firmly. There must have been something keeping the winds back, but without magic she didn’t understand how. This was fascinating!

“Um, Wildcat. You know I trust you. So what’s the plan on getting to Lord Hordak’s chambers without Shadow Weaver spotting us?” Scorpia asked. “That’s a long walk and we have a prisoner.”

Catra glanced over at the princess thrown over Scorpia’s shoulder. She hadn’t been part of the plan. It had been too good of an opportunity to pass up though. A witch that had been all by herself, no friends around to get in the way. Sure Adora had seen her when they made their escape, but the damage was already done. Not even SheRa could get into the Fright Zone undetected. There would be a whole army of Horde here to stop her. She stopped walking and Scorpia stopped next to her. “You’re right, this’ll be tricky. Let’s get her secured somewhere for now.”

“I have just the place!” Scorpia exclaimed, looking nearly beside herself with joy at being able to help. She lead Catra down the hall and through a set of double doors. Soon enough there were so many twists and turns the magicat was sure she had never seen this part of the Castle despite growing up in the Fright Zone. Just when she was sure they were both lost Scorpia opened a door into a room that looked like nothing she had ever seen before.

Most of the witch hunters lived in Horde Castle. Shadow Weaver had taught them it was a mix of strange architectures based on the ancient civilization that had inhabited the planet hundreds of years ago. Catra didn’t know what any of that meant, she had skipped most of her childhood lessons, including anything about the castle itself and the village below. It was boring anyway. “What is this place?” She asked as she looked around at the large room that was lit and warmed by a fireplace. The mantle held a small collection of trinkets from buttons to daggers. There were old worn chairs around a thick rug and several tapestries decorating the walls. All of them depicting different kingdoms of Etheria in bright colors. Catra didn’t know a place this nice existed in the Fright Zone.

“It’s my stateroom.”

Catra’s ears perked up and she shrieked. “It’s your what?!” 

“My stateroom.” Scorpia set the tied up princess down in one of the chairs and pointed a claw at a set of doors at the far end of the room. “It connects to my bedroom and study.”

“Your what?” Catra was sure she was hearing wrong. She had grown up in a bunker with the other cadets, sharing bathrooms, showers and a mess hall. She even slept on a cold hard bunk and only graduated to a room with a door when she had become a Force Captain.

Scorpia shrugged. “I told you I was a princess. That’s how I got the invitation to the witch’s ball. My family ruled this kingdom and its magic before we gave the land and the Black Garnet to Lord Hordak. I got to keep the fancy rooms, but if you ask me I’d rather hang out with all of the other hunters in the mess hall then use the private dining room.”

“PRIVATE- You know what, this is more of a talk about it later topic. For now we need to secure the witch.” She glared down at Entrapta who was watching them in calm confusion. It was infuriating.

“Sure thing. No one ever comes here, they won’t find her.” Scorpia looked down at Entrapta. “Uh, she seems really calm for a prisoner.”

“It’s just shock. Come on, let’s get going. We have a lot of work to do.”

“Right!” Scorpia took Entrapta’s cuffed arms and lead her over to the fireplace. With dexterity giant claws shouldn’t have allowed, she uncuffed her and looped it through the screen and resecured her. “There you go, nice and warm. It can get cold this high up.” 

“Scorpria!”

“Oh right, prisoner.” Scorpia stood up straight and glared down at Entrapta. “Don’t try to escape.” She turn on heal and then paused. Looking down she remembered her evening gown. “Maybe we should change out of these outfits, it is a little suspicious.”

Catra moaned in defeat. They were taking so long. “Fine. I’ll meet you at the throne room.”

“Sure thing Wildcat.” Scorpia called as the magicat left. She looked down at princess cuffed to her fireplace. “She’s really do-or-die. It’s a great quality in a Force Captain!”

***

Catra found her way back to the witch hunter corridors and changed back into her uniform before making her way out. She lived in a large section of the castle reserved for the cadets who had graduated from their training and proved themselves adept in battle. Hunting down and fighting witches was dangerous work and not everyone could cut it. Catra and Adora had been raised in these halls by Shadow Weaver. They had trained their whole lives hoping to become Force Captains. The very top witch hunters who could either lead other hunters or go on solo missions. They had dreamed about being the team who brought in the leaders of Brightmoon. Catra snorted at the memory, turned out a dream was all it was.

Adora had found that magic sword and with it she had gained magic powers. SheRa had ruined everything.

“Catra, where have you been?”

The witch hunter stopped in her tracks and turned around. Even though she had been out on the field fighting powerful witches, Shadow Weaver could still turn her blood to ice. She had always tried to hide her unease with her attitude, now it just came easier. “Out”

The woman’s porcelain mask didn’t move, not even the ornamental fins that covered her brow twitched. She took a step forward and Catra instinctively took a step back. “You were supposed to help prepare the banquet hall for the feast. It is the winter solstice.”  
“There are cadets for that.”

“It was not a request.”

Catra felt her fur rise. “Well I was busy. It may be the solstice but tomorrow is just another day. The witches will be more powerful after tonight and we need to be ready for that.”

Shadow Weaver tilted her head to the side, a slow doll like movement that made Catra’s skin crawl. “Where was this work ethic when I taught you? Such a shame you wasted your potential clinging to Adora’s coat tails.” She shrugged and stepped closer and Catra felt the room shrink in around her. “But that false bravado does not suit you. If you wish to skip the solstice feast so be it, but I expect you to respect the traditions of the witch hunters. Lord Hordak named you Force Captain, whether or not I believe he made the right choice the cadets look up to you. Behave.” With that she stepped back and continued down the corridor.  
The magicat watched the older woman leave, no motion in her steps as she drifted away. Shadow Weaver might have believed that order and tradition could replace a true upbringing but all it had done was make her orphans scorn her.

Catra turned back, she needed to meet with Lord Hordak before there were any more interruptions.

***

Entrapta sat on the rug looking around the stateroom until Scorpia left before taking out her lockpicks again. She hadn’t expected to meet the princess of the Black Garnet, or too find out that she was now a witch hunter. How fascinating. She stood up and brushed out her tangled hair with her fingers, being kidnapped sure was a hassle. Who knew it involved so much transportation? She reached up and clicked the button on her ear piece. 

“Fright Zone log one. I am inside Horde Castle!” She squealed happily, bouncing on her feet. “I have been kidnapped by two witch hunters named Catra and Scorpia from the witch’s ball. They seem to believe that I am a witch, a misconception I can only assume is from my primary location before I was taken. Which is a resoundingly hard thing to mess up when you calculate the quantity of witches that were present.”

She looked up at the high ceilings and found them to be a mix of metal working and carved wood, much like her own castle in Dryl. “I’ve heard many first hand reports of the Fright Zone but never anything about the castle. I need to gather as much data as I can.” She opened the set of doors and peeked inside. Sure enough there was a bedroom with a vanity and wardrobe and then a study that was mainly a desk overflowing with paper files. “Interesting. The Horde seems to use printed paper for record keeping despite the advances of techpads. I wonder if the Frightzone itself causes deterioration to hardware. This will need further study.”

She rushed to the door Scorpia had left through and peeked out into the hallway. No soldiers were on patrol. “I will now begin my investigation of the castle… starting on this level… that is unidentified as of yet.” She reached into a small leather pouch inside of her jacket and retrieved a thinly folded wax envelope. Inside there was a glowing powder. “I am tracing a keypoint.” She touched the powder and it stuck to her finger. Reaching out she drew a simple sigil on the wall at the base of the door and then wiped the last of the residue over one of her eyes. It disappeared into the stone work but she could still see it’s glow. A handy bit of magic anyone could use. Infact, it made it possible for her to get around her own castle without getting lost.

With one last look around she set out into the castle. She followed the wires and pipes that ran along the ceiling, hoping that they would lead to some sort of power source. Nothing on Etheria was like the Fright Zone. Her limited records said it was all made from ancient technology. Most of the ancient tech was lost to the rest of the world, time was a thief when it came to knowledge if it wasn’t properly recorded. Entrapta had bought and traded for any ancient tech that the kingdoms had managed to find. The witches had tried studying it, but it naturally repealed their magic. Without fine tuning it was of no use to them. So the Kingdom of Dryl got all the ancient tech it wanted in return for the inventions Entrapta produced from it.

The pipes gave a low rumble and she sped up her pace, determined to find out where they lead. “The pipe system I have encountered seemed to branch off through several other rooms down this hall, but the main power supply ends… with a control panel!!” She cheered, opening up another leather satchel and pulling out a pocket hexdriver. “The panel has a touch pad and a key pad, I assume both codes are required to open the door- neither of which I have time to hack, I will remove the outer casing instead.” Inside she was greeted with hundreds of tiny wires. “Amazing, the castle seemed to have electronics running through the whole floor. I need to find the main computer to understand what it is controlling.” She pulled one of the wires and cut it. The door across from her slid open. “Ahhh!! There are electronic locks on the doors!!” She rushed through them.

***

“I can’t believe this.” Catra grumbled, walking along side Scorpia. “Lord Hordak NEVER leaves the castle. Those bots don’t know what they’re talking about.” They had made it to the grand hall of the castle but no further. Two armed automatons were guarding the doorway, refusing to let anyone past. They only had a few pre programmed recordings but it was enough to deter the force captains from trying their luck.

“Maybe he’s out celebrating the solstice?” Scorpia offered. She didn’t have an answer but the night was still a success. “We just need to get an audience with him tomorrow.”

“And do what with the witch in the meantime? She has dangerous magic, the longer she’s here without being dealt with the bigger threat she is. Getting her to Lord Hordak now is what we need to do.”

“Okay… what if we just gave her to Shadow Weaver and then left presenting the sword until we-”

“No! Shadow Weaver will drain her dry. She’s our prisoner!”

Scorpia held up her claws in defence. “Ok ok, I hear ya. We’ll keep the princess secure and give her to Hordak as soon as he gets back. Come on, in the meantime we’ll go check out the mess hall. It’s probably decorated for the solstice.” She was used to swing Catra frustrated, she just needed to keep the magicat distracted until she could think clearly.

“The mess hall?! You have private dining! Why would you want to eat ration bars with the cadets? How did you even capture the witch?” Catra shrieked, becoming more and more frustrated.

Scorpia wasn’t put off, instead she perked up. “Oh! Right! Let me tell you!”

***

Scorpia had managed to lose the young monster hunter on the dance floor. Not a simple task when you were over six feet tall with scorpion claws. The dancers parted around her like she was a shark in water and easily closed the gap before Bow could follow.

Her task after that was simple: retrieve the sword of power.

Catra would have Adora distracted and none of the witches would think to guard the weapons that were taken at the door. After all the witch’s ball had a no fighting policy they were all too eager to follow. Get to the room they were holding weapons in, find the sword of power and get to the third floor. From the third floor there was a balcony she would use to escape to the aerocopter they had hidden. They decided to keep the plan simple from the start. Catra always complained that their missions failed because Shadow Weaver was distracted with capturing Adora. They didn’t need Adora, they just needed to sword. After that there would be no more SheRa. No more SheRa meant the witches wouldn’t be able to hold off the Horde any more. Everything would be able to fall into place from there.

So Scorpia kept her path away from the dance floor where more and more witches were gathering. She knew she would stand out, but she was also a well trained witch hunter who knew how to use her surroundings to her advantage.

There were two guards stationed at the front gates, checking invitations and then collecting any weapons. From there they placed the weapons into a chest. Once closed there was a flash of light from within and the weapons were gone, ready for the next set to be added. The chest simply transported the weapons to a locked room down the hall. There were no guards stationed there, so her way was clear.

The door had no lock, not like in the Fright Zone. Instead the witches depended on magic. The spell that kept people out made the ice on the door shimmer a pale blue. Scorpia placed her claw against it and pushed but was met with resistance. She slipped a flat black square from her dress and pressed it against the door. This time the door tried to push back and jerked, the magic draining from it in seconds. 

The Horde made its weapons and machines from ancient technology that absorbed magic when it touched it. The simple spell on the door was no match for the despell patch. She slipped it back into her dress and pushed the door open with ease. 

Inside the room was lined wall to wall with weapons. Maces, axes, flails, arrows, throwing daggers, shields… and in the middle of the room, resting on a table all by itself was the sword of power. The rapier had a blue gem in the guard and gold swirl like wings glitterin in the light. “Weird, I could have sworn it was bigger.” Scorpia picked it up and didn’t feel anything. She looked around the empty room before raising the sword over her head. “For the Honor… Nah.” She slipped it down the back of her dress, clipping the pummel onto her belt. She quickly left and closed the door. She couldn’t put the spell back up. But if everything went as planned, they would be long gone before anyone even checked.

Now, all she needed to do was act normal and get to the third floor.

She looked around carefully, but she didn’t see any hint of being followed. Honestly… if you lost your enemy you shouldn’t blindly run around, you were supposed to head toward your most vulnerable spots to protect them. If she had seen enemies entering the Fright Zone she would have gone straight to the Black Garnet chamber to make sure it’s defences were still up. She shrugged as she headed up the stairs to the second floor. It wasn’t her concern if they made this easy.  
She spotted movement in the shadows and hid behind an ice pillar. 

“Scorpia- did you get it?”

She looked around, finding Catra behind the pillar to her right. She gave a nod.

“Good, I’ll go to the dance floor to keep them busy while you get to the aerocopter.” Catra took a step and then paused. “Wait, change in plans.”

“Uh, didn’t you say that’s what was causing trouble in the first place?”

The magicat waved her off. “This is simple. There’s a witch on the third floor. Princess Entrapta. She’s been alone all evening but Adora seemed pretty worried about her when I was there. She said she’s studied runestones, so she’s got to be one of the witches of power. If she’s still alone when you get up there, grab her. Hard to miss with floor length purple hair.”

“Grab- but this wasn’t supposed to be a kidnapping mission.”

“Improvise. Getting the sword was our goal, but we haven’t captured a witch for the Fright Zone since SheRa showed up. This is all working in our favor.”

Scorpia looked up toward the third floor. It was wide open, not many pillars or hall ways to hide in. Kidnapping a witch in the middle of the ball wouldn’t be easy. But Catra was right, they hadn’t caught a witch in months. “Alright Wildcat.” When she looked back down Catra was already gone. “How does she do that?”

Getting to the third floor was easy. The lights suddenly blinked and the music changed. The witches would most likely be heading to the dance floor right about now. That was Catra’s signal to keep them there while Scorpia got their escape plan under way.

Looking around she didn’t see anyone. If the witch was here before, she must have headed down to the dance floor by now. It was a shame, but they couldn’t risk getting caught now when they were so close. Scorpia rushed across the room past the two massive sculptures and down the long hallway. It was the only hall that lead straight out to a balcony, which made it perfect for the getaway.

Scorpia skidded to a stop just as she got to the balcony. 

Leaning over the edge was a small woman with lengths of purple hair. That had to be the princess. It would have been a stroke of luck except she had discovered the small anti magic field generator at the base of the railing. The generator was attached to a retractable ladder that Scorpia was going to take to the hidden aerocopter. How did she even find it!?

Entrapta was so busy looking over the device and rambling on her recorder she didn’t notice anyone else out on the balcony. Just as she reached for the device she felt something grab her arm and pull her back. Her hands were forced together and heavy metal cuffs were wrapped around her wrists. She looked up at the white haired woman, recognizing her as one of the witch hunters who were wandering around the ball. “Wha-”

Scorpia pulled a gag around her mouth. “Now none of that.” Entrapta stepped back, trying to pull away and get free but the woman’s large powerful claws snapped shut in front of her face. “And don’t run, these high heels are killing my feet. Catra wants you brought with us, so that’s what’s going to happen.”

The inventor tried to run around her other side but Scorpia easily scooped the smaller woman up. She struggled, but as soon as Scorpia climbed over the railing of the balcony she stilled. Fighting for freedom was important, but not if it meant she could get dropped off the side of a castle!

Scorpia held tight to her prisoner and carefully scaled down the retractable ladder to the awaiting ship. It was slower than she would have liked, Catra was the distraction but she couldn't hold their attention forever. The cockpit opened and she climbed inside, dumping Entrapta on the floor. “Oh sorry! I hope you’re alright, there’s not really a third chair in here.” She took the sword and put it in Catra’s seat before sitting down and powering on the engine.

The ladder retracted into the side of the craft as it released from the side of the palace, canvas wings folding open to keep it aloft. Scorpia maneuvered the controls as the aerocopter lifted up until she was even with the balcony they had just climbed down from. Flipping a switch the weapons powered on with a hum. She didn’t spare her prisoner a backward glance as she focused the beam and aim of the cannon. The shot had to count, there wouldn’t be a second chance. The glass over the cockpit was starting to frost over from being so close to the ice magic but she didn’t let it shake the controls from her as she pressed the button to fire.

The condensed beam blasted through the magic shield of the balcony and slammed into one of the giant ice sculptures down the hall. They were too far away to hear the ice crack, but they watched as the first horse crumpled and the chandelier it held fell.

Scorpia pulled the aerocopter back and circled around the palace. She knew which balcony Catra planned on using to escape, she needed to be there to catch her.

***

“And then I piloted down to the balcony and used the anti magic cannon to break open-”

“Yeah, yeah, I was there for that part.” Carta waved her hand through the air as if to fan away the words. “So the witch was already on the balcony? We made sure the aerocopter was well hidden. She should have been driven off by the anti magic the generator was producing.”

Scorpia shrugged. She wasn’t going to question this turn of events. It all worked out in their favor. “She’s been a model prisoner really. I didn’t even have to threaten her.”

“A model prisoner?”

“Yeah. You know; no crying, no screaming, no fighting back. She was pretty quick when I grabbed her but the cuffs kept her magic out of it.”

“Yeah, that is…” Catra froze as the door to Scorpia’s stateroom opened up before them.

The cuffs were on the floor. The princess was not.

“Ohhh, that’s not good.”

“Ya think?! Where could she have gone? We need to find her!” Catra ran into the room, looking for any place the witch could be hiding. If Shadow Weaver caught her it would be all for not! Capturing a witch was only useful if you didn’t lose her!

“We’ll alert the patrols to be on the look out-”

“No! No one else can know she’s here! We need to find her ourselves.”

Scorpia frowned but nodded. “Alright. I’ll got left, you go right and we meet back here.”

***

Entrapta had lost track of the wires once she got further into the castle. Some vanished into walls, others split into different directions, even more of them seemed to end at power panels next to doors. “The power grid system of the Fright Zone must be massive to allow for so much electronic output. I have yet to run into any guards, I hypothesis this is do to being so deep in the castle. Most likely no outsider has ever been this far in. Even personnel would be blocked by the simple panel locks that I have been bypassing. No reason for extra security here.” She said to herself as she typed away at a keypad.

So far she had found dozens of locked rooms, but none of them held anything interesting. It seemed as though the Castle was built for a much larger staff than what she had seen, which was no one. What she had found were automatons. The ‘bots’ of the Horde she had heard so much about. They were humanoid for the most part. Armor had been soldered onto them to protect their joints and inner workings and they were faceless except for a generic helmet. She had a feeling that as interesting as it might have been to take one apart and study it, she wouldn’t hold up well against two of them armed with weapons.

“Ah! Got cha!” She grinned as the lock she was working on flashed green and the door to her right opened up. She looked inside curiously.

It was a small room that seemed to immediately drop several feet once through the threshold. In the dim light from the hallway she could see hundreds of bot parts. “This must be storage… or trash.” She stepped inside, digging through the pile. “Ohh- why would anyone throw these parts in here? There’s whole processors- Ancient tech inscriptions- ahh! There’s an intact bot interface here…” She paused as the room seemed to brighten. Looking around at the metal scrap around her the light seemed to come from underneath. She dug her arm in and tried to push the parts aside but it suddenly moved on its own sending automaton limbs crashing around her as something rose from inside the pile. A single red light glared down at her.

“Oh… hello there…”


	3. No Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Witches of Power come up with a plan to rescue Entrapta.

Brightmoon was unlike any other place on Etheria. The land around it naturally defended it from the Horde’s army and the monsters that plagued the rest of the world. The Whispering Woods was so filled with magic that the trees themselves talked and moved freely. Well known paths disappeared and reappeared, whole villages were moved in the middle of the night. The rivers of crystal water always lead back to Brightmoon lake though. A lake so placid it reflected the sky like a mirror and high above it the Moonstone. It was here in the middle of the woods Brightmoon Castle rose. 

Adora had lived here for months, but she still had the curtains in her room shut tightly. She had grown up in the darkness of the Fright Zone where the sky was forever cast in darkness by the swirling clouds above it. So waking up to the forever twilight of Brightmoon felt like sand in her eyes. This morning more than any that had come before was the worst.

The witch’s ball had been a disaster. When the chandelier fell people were hurt and panic had erupted. As soon as Catra and Scorpia flew away everything else went to chaos. Witches fled from the party and the guards refused to go after the aerocopter. Glimmer had used too much of her magic on the locating spell to teleport them into the cockpit and Princess Frosta had crafted giant ice walls around her kingdom to keep everyone out. She wanted no part in the war brewing outside.

Now, in the morning light it all seemed so much worse. The sword of power had been taken. She couldn’t turn into SheRa, she had no magic. Adora grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around herself as she balled up on her side. The witches had been celebrating a night that should have been a night of peace, and instead Catra had used that to her advantage.

If she was being honest with herself, she was most upset because she would have done the same thing. She had trained to be a witch hunter her whole life. She knew the witches would be more powerful, but their guard was down. And this year was the first time in five years where everyone would be together in one location. It had been a perfect night to attack. She should have known that and prepared better! Learning how to bow, how to dance?! All of that had been useless in the end.

She knew laying here was pointless to. The longer they waited to act, the slimmer Entrapta’s chances of survival were. At least she wasn’t a witch. Shadow Weaver would have drained her of her magic by now otherwise. Adora had seen that first hand and it still haunted her sleep. Young witches tied up with magic dampening chains, the Black Garnet leaching them of their magic just like the ancient tech ate away the life from the planet. Then when they were weak and useless she gave them to Lord Hordak who feasted in their blood!

She sat up in bed so quickly she tumbled out of it onto the floor. No! She jumped to her feet. “I can’t just lay here! I need to get back into the Fright Zone and save Entrapta and get the sword of power back! I am SheRa! Witch of Pow-

“Adora?”

“Ah!!” Adora jumped and swirled around, fists up.

Glimmer was at the door looking concerned. “I was coming to check on you and I heard the commotion.”

“Uh- I’m fine! It’s fine.” She kicked the blankets back onto the bed. “It’s time we go get Entrapta back!”

Glimmer smiled at her confidence. “Sure, but maybe get dressed first.”

Adora looked down at her underwear. “Not battle plan ready?”

“Not really, we have guests.”

“Guests?”

“See you in the war room!” Glimmer disappeared in a flash of sparkles.

The war room was once upon a time the council room. But with the Horde encroaching daily the witches of Etheria had to go on the offencive if they planned on saving their homes. Around the large circular table were tall backed chairs for each kingdom’s representative. Queen Angella was at the head, and to her right the empty thrown on her late husband. When Adora arrived she was greeted with the sight of eight people reading over the holographic display on the table.

Angella, Glimmer and Bow were in their respective seats, with Mermista and Perfuma sitting in the throws of their kingdoms. Sea Hawk stood behind the princess of Salineas and across from them were Netossa and Spinnerella, powerful witches who had been a part of the first witch alliance.

Adora looked at all of their faces and knew there wasn’t any good news. She took her seat next to Glimmer and looked down at the table.

Angella stood up and reached into the hologram. She pulled the edge of it and the mag enlarged. “These are the latest scans from the Fright Zone.”

Adora recognized Horde Castle immediately. The tall haphazard castle was at the center, the factories branched out around it and the magma flow underneath had caused the land around it to crack and shift. She had spent her first few weeks in Brightmoon updating this very map. It was disheartening to see there wasn’t much of a difference. It had only been a few months but each battle as SheRa felt like a victory… looking at this map the Fright Zone only looked more frightening.

“We’re not sure why Princess Entrapta was taken. The witch hunters have never taken a nonwitch before.” Angella continued. “If she’s not going to be drained of her magic then, well reports say she will be-” She looked pale. The very idea of being bitten by a vampire and eaten was a nightmare.

Adora had never seen it herself, but she knew the witches taken to Shadow Weaver were never seen again once she gave them to Lord Hordak.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Bow said as he stood up. He looked just as tired as they felt, but had determination in his eyes. “Princess Entrapta has invented hundreds of advanced tech weapons. Including magical cannons, laser pistols, caster rifles and vibroblades. Not only that, but the jettison submarines of Salineas are based on her designs, and the animabots that we use are hers as well. She may not have magic, but killing her would be a terrible waste.”

“So you’re saying the Horde just captured a very dangerous scientist?” Mermista asked flatly. “That still sounds bad.”

“True, that knowledge in the Horde’s hands could be catastrophic. But that’s just another reason we need to go and rescue her!” Bow exclaimed.

Adora and Glimmer looked at each other and grinned widely. This is just what they needed; a rescue mission.

“Adora has the most knowledge on the Fright Zone of anyone in the kingdoms. She can get us in and we can save Entrapta.” Glimmer said.

“No”

Everyone froze and looked at Angella.

“Glimmer, the Fright Zone is made of ancient tech. It will eat away at all of your magic before you’ve even made it into the castle. Monster slayers are trained to go into battle but…” She looked around the table at the witches gathered there. She couldn’t tell the princesses of other kingdoms what to do, but she would keep her daughter safe.

Perfuma stood up. “I’m not a monster slayer, I’m not a fighter or even a very good leader when it comes to this stuff. But Entrapta’s weather shielding inventions helped Plumeria’s harvests when the Heart Stone was being weakened. If it wasn’t for that SheRa would have arrived too late to help us.” She smiled at Adora. “I want to help any way I can.”

“We have defensive sigils in our armor to protect ourselves from ancient tech.” Mermista said. “I’ve fought against monsters long enough to know how long it takes my magic to drain. I can supply armor.”

Glimmer was still watching her mother. She knew this war had taken so much already. “Mom, I know I’m not trained as a monster hunter. But I’ve been going on missions with SheRa since-”

“But SheRa isn’t going to be there this time.” Angella argued. “The sword of power is the key to her magic and the Horde took it. I understand this is important to you, but you are untrained.”

“Mom!”

“The answer is no.”

Adora flinched as they glared at one another. SheRa wasn’t there. Who knew what they had already done to the sword. What if Shadow Weaver had already drained it? There wouldn’t be a SheRa ever again.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Spinerella smiling down at her. “I can see it by the look in your eyes. You may not have the sword of power, but SheRa only grants you magic to wield. Every decision you’ve made so far has been your own and you have been an alley to Brightmoon. Monster Slayer’s go out to battle every day without magic, you have nothing to be afraid of.”

Adroa felt the darkness that had been in her chest lighten and she smiled back. It wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing ever was. She looked across the table at Bow who gave her a nod.

“I can not stop you from going to the Fright Zone.” Angella said solemnly. “But Glimmer is right, you have the most knowledge. If anyone can do this, it is you Adora.”

***

Scorpia didn’t know where an escaped witch would go in the Fright Zone.

There had never been a witch loose before. She wondered for a moment if she should take her own advice and check Horde Castle’s defenses, but a single witch couldn’t do much damage with so much ancient tech around.

She rounded the corner and nearly jumped out of her skin as she ran into three other hunters. “Oh- it’s you guys!”

Lonnie raised an eyebrow. “Uh… yeah… we always have morning rounds before breakfast. You okay Scorpia?”

“Morning- morning rounds? It’s morning!?” Scorpia looked around in panic, and sure enough the hallways were starting to fill up. Hunters were starting their rounds, cadets were gearing up for training and the bots were starting their patrols. “Oh this is-” She caught the strange look Lonnie was giving her. “This is great! I’ll join you three. I haven’t done morning rounds since before I was a Force Captain.”

Kyle glanced at Rogelio and gave a small shrug. It was better than Catra.

The lizard man shrugged back with a quiet grunt. Catra usually showed up eventually if Scorpia was around.

“You sure Scorpia? You seem a little out of it.” Lonnie asked. The taller woman was usually very chipper no matter the time of day. She put her hand to her mouth and leaned in to whisper. “If you had a long solstice night and want to catch some sleep I’m not gonna tell.”

“Aww” Scorpia cooed, then shook her head to wake herself up. “I’m sure! I’ll join you, for breakfast too!” She wasn’t sure what to do. There hadn’t been a plan for an escaped witch, or what to do if she was still escaped by the time everyone woke up. At least going on rounds would give her more time to look in places she hadn’t yet.

***

Catra woke up abruptly as loud bell chimes rang out around her. She yelped, quickly wrapping her arms around the railing of the metal walkway before she could fall off. It swayed dangerously over the village far below. She hadn’t had any luck in locating the witch and had decided to change tactics. She had the best view of the Fright Zone up here. She and Adora had spent countless hours coming up here. So if the witch passed by, this was the best place to see her. Of course, that was before she had dozed off. 

The thick cloud cover over the Fright Zone blocked the sky completely and made it nearly impossible to tell the time of day. Instead the clock tower in the village below used a system of speakers so that the chimes could be heard throughout. The last of the six chimes faded into echo. It was morning. Catra hadn’t seen a single strain of purple hair anywhere!

The witch must have been extremely powerful to escape the cuffs a second time and then vanish out of the room. A witch that strong would be able to survive in the Fright Zone long enough to get out on foot, even with the ancient tech draining her magic. That was, if she didn’t get lost or caught. Now that it was morning everyone one would be waking up and heading about their day. Making it nearly impossible to sneak around undetected.

Catra stood up and stretched, her tail curling around her. The witch was a problem, but she hadn’t been what they were after. The sword of power was theirs . With SheRa out of the way, everything would fall into place. She just needed to find that witch!

***

“Fright Zone Log three…I have completed Emily!” Entrapta laughed, leaning backward to get a better look at her work. The bot wasn’t humanoid like the other automatons, instead Entrapta had taken off the broken casing and bolted the processor and power core into a smaller sphere, roughly a meter in diameter. “Her new casing sphere uses a gyroscope to keep her polarized to the gravitational pull of Etheria. I used four counter weighted balls inside to increase her dexterity and a counterweight against her core. That and a heavy duty counter magnet to keep her head attached!” Entrapta giggled as the bot raced around her and beeped happily, her domed head swinging around ad using the lens looked around at everything in a purple light. “There’s so much ancient tech here! I was able to add a camera, recorder, heat scanner, projector- oh wait up!” She yelped as the bot tried to roll out of the room using small fold out spider like legs to climb up to the door.

The inventor got to her feet and swayed dangerously to the side before Emily bumped into her and helped her get her balance. “Oh, dilemma. I have lost track of time and I have not slept or eaten since the witch’s ball.” She looked back down the hallway and saw her ghostly footprints that lead back the way she had come. No one else would be able to see them and they would stay until she washed the powder from her face. Getting back to the stateroom wouldn’t be a problem but… she was still a prisoner. There was no guarantee that she would find food there. The witch hunters didn’t kidnap her for a friendly reason.

She rubbed her chin with her gloved hand, accidentally leaving behind a smudge of oil. “Come on Emily, I have an idea.”

The bot spun around, its head staying facing her and beeping pleasantly.

***

When the war room meeting was dismissed Adora had the beginning of a plan in her mind. Her training as a witch hunter had prepared her for all sorts of missions. She had never thought one of them would have been a Fright Zone rescue mission. She walked down the halls of Brightmoon, the sunlight streaming in through the balcony arches and the smell of the lake in the wind. It was almost jarring how different it all was. She paused at one of the windows and watched birds flitter past. Going back to the Fright Zone sat in the pit of her stomach like a rock.

Seeing first hand the destruction the Horde ushered in on the battlefield was hard, fighting hand to hand against Catra hurt to think about, but going back to the Fright Zone...

She followed the pathway down stairs and out into a garden where the others were waiting for her. Bow, Mermista, Seahawk and Perfuma were on her side. They looked to her, unsure but determined.

There was a flash of light and sparkles as Glimmer appeared. “I’m going.”

Bow smiled. “We know.”

Adora smiled back even with the rock in her stomach. “I have a plan. It’s going to take all of us, and it won’t be easy, but I’ve thought it through. Bow can you pull up a map of the Whispering Woods?”

He grabbed his data pad and held it out so everyone could see the screen.

Adora traced her finger along the lines. “When I came to the Whispering Woods looking for the sword of power, I took a Horde Nomad to get here. The trees blocked my path pretty early and I had to continue on foot the rest of the way, but the Nomad should still be where I left it. We can use it to get back into the Fright Zone undetected.

“Inside the Nomad there are Horde supplies. I still have my uniform so Bow and Sea Hawk can use the spare ones in the Nomad to disguise themselves as witch hunters. Our cover will be that the three of us caught you three.”

“Wait,” Perfuma cut in. “We’re just going to walk into the Fright Zone as captured witches? No disguises?” She looked unsure.

Adora gave her a sympathetic look. “The plan is not to be seen by anyone, that is just a cover story.” She tapped the screen and changed the map to the one they had all been looking at in the war room. The Fright Zone was spread out before them. “Glimmer and I will be a team-”

“Oh can we have team names!?” Sea Hawk cut in.

“What? No, that’s not necessary.” Adora tried to get back on topic. “We’ll be-”

“MerHawk!”

“No!” Adora yelped.

“MerHawk?” Mermista muttered.

“Yes, a coupling of our names.”

“Please never say coupling again. Ever.” Mermista moaned.

“Anyway! Glimmer and I will be-”

“Glimadora-”

“WE’LLBEHEADINGDEEPERINTOTHECASTLE!” Adrora yelled, cutting Sea Hawk off. “Our priority is to find the sword of power. Shadow Weaver will most likely have it in the Black Garnet chamber. I know how to get there and Glimmer can use her powers to get us out the fastest.

“Bow and Perfuma…” Adora paused, glaring at the sea captain and daring him to talk. “You will be responsible for locating Entrapta and getting her out. I can provide you with a map, but Bow you’re our tech master. You’ll have to hack through the keypads keeping Entrapta locked up.”

Bow smiled at Perfuma. “You’ll be sticking with me. If anyone sees us, we say I’m bringing you to a cell. I need you’re magic to heal Entrapta once we get her.”

The witch gave a nod, she could do this.

“Sea Hawk and Mermista-”

“Seamista.” Mermista said flatly. Sea Hawk gave a quiet gasp and looked at her with starry eyes.

Adora twitched and sighed in defeat. “You’re job is to guard the Nomad and secure our escape route.”

“Excuse me?! The Horde attacked the seagate and you want me to wait while everyone else gets to go kick butt?”

“There is no butt kicking. We want to get in and out without being spotted.” Glimmer reminded her.

Adora nodded. “Besides, the one thing that runs through the entire castle and surrounding village is the sewage-”

“Uh uh! That’s a big nope. I’m not touching Horde sewage!” Mermista growled.

“You’re the only monster hunter here with magic! The fastest way for all of us to escape is to follow the sewage pipes to the exit. You’ll have to make sure it’s clear of monsters and witch hunters so we don’t get stopped.” Adroa pressed. “You know water magic better than anyone else, and you’ve fought monsters your whole life. We need you here.”

“Uggghhh, fine. But we never mention this to anyone.”

“But the glorious tales of adventure-

“Never. Mention. To. Anyone.” Mermista stressed while glaring at the sea captain.

“So, we have our plan… one question.” Glimmer raised her hand. “What’s a Nomad?”

***

Deep in the Whispering Woods Bow lead the group through the trees using his datapad. It would have been impossible to navigate their own way without the signal the ancient tech was radiating.

“Are you sure this is the way?” Adora asked, climbing over a large tree root that was twice her height.

“The Whispering Woods move all the time. it might not look like the way you came but this is the only ancient tech I’m picking up. Though… my readings aren’t perfect and it keeps moving.”

Perfuma carefully stepped through the underbrush. “I can ask the trees if we’re going the right way.”

Everyone froze and turned to look at her.

“Ask the trees?” Mermista asked in disbelief. Her faith in the other witch was waning. “I mean, I heard that the trees could talk… but it’s not like real words right?” 

Perfuman smiled and nodded. “It’s not a language you can learn, but I’ve lived among the gardens and forests of Plumeria all my life. It won’t hurt to try.”

Adora glanced at Glimmer for reassurance. She hadn’t grown up around magic, the idea of talking to trees sounded like a mad one.

“Uhh, couldn’t hurt I guess.” Glimmer said.

Perfuma clapped her hands and then turned toward the largest tree. It’s lowest branch was still four meters over their heads and it was too wide to wrap their arms around. It’s leaves were green and glittered in the dappled sunlight. She reached up and placed her palms against the bark. “Hello” She said pleasantly.

The others all looked at each other. Suddenly the bird songs around them stopped and the silence settled around them. Then just as quickly a sudden rush of wind blew through the leaves. It sounded like a million leaves falling and branches tearing.

“I’m Perfuma, these are my friends. We are looking for something…” The witch said calmly, her hands still against the tree. Bow slowly walked around her, watching her closely to make sure she wasn’t joking. Her eyes were dull and the edges of her hands glowed faintly. “Yes, the machine… do you know where it is?... Thank you!” She pulled her hands away and the glow disappeared.

Around them the sound of leaves quieted and slowly the birds started chirping. “They said it’s not far! Fifteen meters that way.”

“Great! All the closer to saving Entrapta and getting the sword back.” Adora lead them the rest of the way, trying to fight down her panic at returning to the Fright Zone with determination for the mission at hand. As they got closer everything seemed to get darker. Ancient Tech absorbed the magic around it, and the Nomad was no different. Left here for months it had created a small anti magic field. The plants were less vibrant and full, all drying up and crunching under their feet. The trees darkened with veins of poison, black sap oozing from the bark. They came to a stop, looking at the black metal vehicle. Its three tires were wrapped in bramble and the grass around it was dead.

“The Nomad, it's not as fast as a Ghost, but it's built to absorb magic. It’s probably at full power from being in the Whispering Woods for so long. Adora walked forward, pulling some of the vines away and freeing the door. She reached under the metal bar and flipped a switch, overriding the lock. It hissed and the door slid open. The stale air hit her and she flinched. The last time she was inside of a Nomad she was a witch hunter.

“Adora?” Glimmer called, placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s going to be alright. It’s a solid plan.”

“Right.” She pulled herself up and looked around. She pressed her hand to one of the datapads and the inside of the Nomad lit up with dim lights. She opened one of the storage bins. “Sea Hawk, Bow. Change into these. The rest of us need to get it free from the vines, then, we head to the Fright Zone.”

***

Scorpia had done rounds before. When she was a cadet she had walked these very halls every day. But unlike all those times, she was sleep deprived and trying to stay alert in case a purple haired witch appeared.

Her strange behavior did not go unnoticed. In fact Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio were glancing between themselves and trying to find a good opening to get out of there. “And here we are.” Lonnie said, coming to a halt. “All done with rounds, nothing to report Just like yesterday and the day before that and the day before that.”

“Yeah, and oh look the mess hall- we better go get breakfast before it’s all gone.” Kyle added.

Regelio grunted in agreement.

They turned on heel toward the hall.

“Breakfast is just what I need! I’ll grab a few of those pastries for Catra too. She’s probably still out looking- I mean, she had a late night too. Always working, that Catra.”

“Um, right.”

The mess hall was the second largest room in Horde Castle, the first being the training hall. The youngest cadets were trained to serve meals and clean the kitchen after dining hours were over while the cooking staff were people hired from the village. They were only allowed into regulated parts of the castle under watch. High arched windows lined the stone walls, each made with decorative stained glass that depicted the red wings of the Horde. Inside, bats chirped and fluttered high over head. They were one of the few animals that were not corrupted by ancient tech, and inhabited the Fright Zone freely.

***

“Alright Emily. First road test!” Entrapta said happily as she finished oiling a hinge on the bot’s casing. “You know the plan.”

Emily beeped excitedly and spun.

“Good girl, go get ‘em!”

The bot sped down the hallway, veering around unsuspecting witch hunters who were slowly making their way to the hall for breakfast. There were a few yelps and a crash as the bot rounded the corner.

She came to a halt in the doorway of the mess hall and scanned the room with her purple light. She leaned forward and slowly started to roll around tables.

Scorpia was mostly asleep despite the half drunk coffee in front of her. The low roar of people around her and the distant bat chirps were soothing. She yawned and ate another cinnamon roll.

At the table next to her the trio of witch hunters were eating breakfast and discussing their agenda for the rest of the day.

“I don’t mind running drills with the cadets.” Kyle was saying.

“We’re not cadets any more, we should be out hunting.” Lonnie argued.

“Hunting? With SheRa out there? No thank you. I saw her pick up a Ghost and throw it twenty meters! Those things might be small but not THAT small…” Kyle grew quiet as he watched Emily roll down the hallway. “What’s that?”

They all looked over. “Aww, it’s cute! Must be a new Automaton design Lord Hordak is working on.” Scorpia cooed. “Come here little guy.”

Emily paused and scanned their table before rolling their way.

“It doesn’t look like much to me.” Lonnie muttered. “It don’t see any weapons, or legs… how does it work?”

Emily came to a stop next to them and beeped. A side compartment hmed and opened to reveal an empty drawer.

“Um… that’s new…” Kyle watched as a small metal arm reached out, placed itself on the table, and then swiped all of his food into the drawer. “HEY!!”

Emily beeped loudly, her compartment closing as she spun and zoomed off.

Rogelio gave a gruff laugh as the bot nearly knocked over to hunters before disappearing out of the mess hall.

Entrapta was sitting by herself in an empty storage room. She had found a set of hallways that must have been abandoned and used them to navigate the castle undetected. She wasn’t a witch, but she didn’t want to find out what the plans were if she was caught. There was a dull thump on the door next to her followed by a beep. She quickly opened it to let Emily roll in. “Well?”

The bot spun and the compartment opened to reveal a toppled plate of mini egg tarts and a sealed beverage.

“SUCCESS!” Entrapta cheered, grabbing the bottle and a tart. “Great work Emily!” She pulled the tab on the drink and it exploded into sticky foam all over her. “Oh… right… the spinning…” She laughed and snorted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emily is modeled after BB-8


	4. No Good Deed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best laid plans go awry.

Growing up in the Fright Zone did nothing to prepare Adora for returning to it.

The warmth from spending time away was immediately pulled from her bones as they crossed under the spiraling clouds. The trees and plants began to grow thin, then to die, and finally not to grow at all. The soil of the Whispering Woods was left behind and the ground became black stone, cracked and hot. The Nomad carried them farther away from the magic of Etheria, into the village. She looked over her shoulder at the rescue party. If it was bad for her she could only imagine what it was like for them.

Glimmer was using pure determination to keep from trembling as Adroa drove the Nomad through a large stone gate and was waved to a stop. They could see seven guards just from the window, no telling how many more were nearby. A row of spikes on a chain net was laid out in front of them and they could hear rattling as another net was dragged behind them. Nowhere to go. Bow and Sea Hawk stood ready in their disguises, each holding a weapon. A knock echoed through the Nomad and a guard walked up to the side where Adora was. “Open up!”

Adora reached over and pulled up the panel next to her, her face straight. “No can do. We have three powerful witches in here, I’m on route to the castle.”  
Everyone held their breath. They only had one shot to get in through the front gate. If this didn’t work they’d have to fight their way out and then the whole Fright Zone would know they were there.

“No record of a hunting party out today.”

Adora pulled her cape aside, flashing a red pin in the shape of a bat.

“Force Captain! I’m sorry for the delay- get the spikes up!” The guard stepped back and the chains were pulled out of the way for them to continue. Adora shut the panel firmly and drove forward.

There was a collective sigh of relief as they got farther from the gates but it didn’t last long.

Bow carefully walked forward in the moving vehicle and sat down in the seat beside Adora. Looking out of the reinforced glass he could see the village around them. “What is this place?” The ground was cobblestone, worn down in places from foot traffic. Buildings were narrow and built close together, almost on top of each other. The only light came from scattered street lamps despite the time of day, nothing bright enough to illuminate the dark corners or distant allies. Everything was muted, covered in ash and grime.

“It’s the village.” Adora said with a shrug.

“I can see that, but what village?”

“The Village. It’s where everyone outside the castle lives.”

Bow frowned, looking around and trying to make sense of what he was seeing. “But why would anyone live here?”

Adora frowned. “Because they believe the lie Hordak and Shadow Weaver fed them. They don’t know what it’s like outside of the Fright Zone, they don’t know anything else is different. I hadn’t seen the sun until I went out on missions, and not everyone here is selected to become a witch hunter.”

“Oh boo-hoo.” Mermista muttered.

Glimmer glared at her.

Adora cut in. “It’s not like that. Being a witch hunter is bad, but not to these people. The Horde has taught them that this is all there is. Just darkness. Being a witch hunter means you get to move into the castle. You get food every day, you get training, you get a life that has more meaning than just waking up and working in one of the factories. And if you’re really good at it, you can go on missions. You can leave. You finally have the training and skills to survive out there.”

Perfuma shook her head. “Why don’t we just get everyone out of here then? I mean if this village is so bad then let’s just rescue all of these people.”

Bow sighed. “One day. But for now, they’re still brainwashed into thinking we’re the bad guys. They think that everywhere looks like this. That out beyond the Fright Zone it’s just a dangerous waste land.” He glanced at Adora but she had the steering wheel in an iron grip, only staring ahead out the window. When he had first met her she had been freaked out by everything. The sun, the forest, even parties.

“It is dangerous.” Mermista added. “That’s why we’re monster slayers. Without us fighting back the monsters who attack our kingdoms, our people would be just as bad off as this place.”

They fell silent. The war was older then all of them, and the few moments of peace they had were what they held onto to give them hope. If the Horde won the war, this is what all of Etheria would be like.

Adora drove the Nomad through the back streets where the large vehicle could barely fit. It was a tight squeeze between buildings, some so close the doors couldn’t be opened. “Is this normal?” Bow asked as a brick slowly scraped along the size with a hiss.

“I can’t take the main roads, we’d be spotted and escorted. We need to stay as hidden as possible. There’s a garage I can get us to and we can ditch the nomad there. After that it’s on foot and we stick to the plan.”

They nodded in unison.

Glimmer stuck close to Adora as they filed out of the nomad and started to spread out. She was a witch with no combat training on enemy territory. She had fought to get this far with her friends, but nothing had readied her for being in the Fright Zone. Adora didn’t like talking about it, but what little she had told them was viewed through the lens of someone who called it home once. Glimmer could feel her magic fraying at the edges, like something was slowly pulling at a string.

She had always imagined the Fright Zone full of monsters. Witch Hunters armed to the teeth with blades and anti magic weapons. Debauchery and ill morals spilling out into the streets. She wanted to see her enemy in black and white. They were the bad guys, they did bad things. She was the good guy, fighting them was right. But it wasn’t like that. The people she fought were lied to by the rulers who were supposed to protect them. She was fighting the foot soldiers of something much worse and it suddenly didn’t feel like a victory just to push them back.

“Glimmer?” Adora whispered. They were hidden in between two buildings, pressed against the grimy bricks. 

She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name. “Sorry”

“You alright? You seem out of it?”

“I feel a little fuzzy. There’s a lot of ancient tech here.” She gave her friend a smile, hoping it was enough. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, as soon as we’re back in Brightmoon.”

Looking ahead, the castle was before them. This side entrance was for materials and resources from the village to be loaded in. “Bow and Perfuma are in position.” Adora said as a reflection of light blinked out a pattern. “We go in first and give the signal, then we get the sword!”

Glimmer grabbed Adora’s hand, holding it tight as they both disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

***

Catra walked through the hallways, the cadets parting around her without a second glance. She was done playing catch up. The witch was in the middle of Horde Castle, she wouldn’t be getting out alive. “Scorpia!”

The taller woman jumped and swirled around, a plate of egg tarts in her claws. “Wildcat! I was just on my way to bring you breakfast.”

The magicat glanced down at the plate with mismatched eyes. “You were off eating breakfast while the witch is still on the loose?”

“I know that sounds bad, but with everyone waking up I thought it was best to act natural. We don’t want anyone to know...right?”

Carta swiped a tart from the plate. “We’re done looking for the witch. It’s morning, so Hordak’s stupid bots should let us through to see him. We bring him the sword.”

“Oh. Oh right. But what do we do if-”

She was cut off by a commotion at the end of the hall. Two witch hunters were arguing loudly and it was starting to draw a crowd. 

“I’m not lying! That was the report-”

“There’s no hunting party out, you heard wrong.”

“It was recorded, we didn’t all hear wrong. Three witches are on their way to the castle.”

Catra’s ears swiveled up and she marched over. “What did you say!?” The two witch hunters grew quiet and looked at her nervously. She wasn’t known for her forgiving nature. “Well?”

“A patrol from the gate said there was a returning hunting party in a Nomad. They are on their way here with three captured witches.” The hunter said, back straight and watching the force captain for some sign of displeasure they should run from.

There was a small murmuring of excitement through the room at the idea of captured witches. No one had brought any back since SheRa had shown up.

Catra’s eyes widened. “There were no hunting parties out last night, it was the solstice.” She looked back over her shoulder at Scorpia and grinned. “It’s the witches from the ball. They came to us this time.” She turned back. “It’s an attack.”

“And what makes you so sure of that?” Everyone took a step back as Shadow Weaver walked forward. Catra could have sworn she wasn’t there a second ago. The masked woman stopped in front of her, waiting for her to explain. The other witch hunters glanced between their teacher and the force captain. It was no secret that there was tension there, since Adora’s disappearance everyone had noticed it had gotten worse. The pale fans at the top of her mask twitched and swayed as she awaited Catra’s explanation.

Catra only grinned, not willing to let this bit of fortune slip through her claws. “It’s Adora. We keep records of every piece of ancient tech that goes out into the field. The only missing Nomad is the one she took when she left. And who better to lead an attack on the Fright Zone then someone who grew up here. If she brought witches with her we should all be on high alert and look for them.”

“Witches would be fools to come here. The very land drains their powers.” Shadow Weaver countered, but it was weak. She wanted Adora back, and if Adora was in the castle it would be the most opportune moment to do so.

“Then tell us which witch hunters disobeyed the rules and went out on the night of the solstice. I told you they would be stronger today. It’s the perfect moment to attack us.”

Shadow Weaver’s head tilted slowly to the side as she debated this. “Force Captain Catra has a theory. It will do us no good to turn a blind eye to it. Double all rounds and alert the bots of possible intruders.”

The hunters and cadets scattered to follow orders. Before Catra could walk away Shadow Weaver’s vice-like grip was on her arm and pulling her close. “If Adora is in the castle, do not let her escape.”

Catra hissed, yanking her arm away. “We don’t need Adora.” She turned on her heel and marched away.

Scorpia quickly caught up with her. “Are you sure it’s them?” She asked quietly.

“Of course I’m sure. Adora wants the sword back. She and her little friends are going to come looking for it.”

“And the witch we grabbed?”

“If anyone sees her they’ll assume she came in with the Nomad. So, we just need to cut them off.”

Scorpia shook her head. “If they are after the sword, where would they think we put it?”

Catra rolled the thought around in her mind. If the sword had been captured during a hunt, it would have been given to Shadow Weaver and then it would have brought to the Black Garnet chamber for her to drain it of magic. “Adora’s going to go to the Black Garnet chamber, that’s where we’ll be waiting.”

“Just the two of us? If she brought three witches with her-”

“They’re magic will be depleting fast, let’s just get there. We already have the sword, she’s made this easy for us.”

***

Bow and Perfuma made it into the castle without being detected. Adora had given them a detailed map to the prisoner cells, complete with the guard rounds and automaton locations. While Adora and Glimmer headed into the more dangerous part of the castle, they were going deeper. Currently they were hiding in the shadows of a low stone archway. Bow was studying his datapad, knowing he wouldn’t get another chance to look at it until they reached the holding cells.

Perfuma felt like her skin was crawling. The ancient tech around her hmed lowly until she could barely hear past it, building up a pressure in her head that pounded with her heartbeat. The armor that Mermista had given her was warm against her skin, but it was only a small comfort. “Bow, do we know where we’re going?” She asked, hoping for a promising answer.

The monster slayer sighed sadly, quickly scanning through the datapad. The ancient tech was interfering with the signal and the screen was twitching with static. “I know where we’re headed, but the map is useless now. I’m sure it’s only going to get worse the farther we go.” He put it away under his coat and turned to look at her. Her discomfort was obvious, but she wasn’t complaining. “I have an idea, I can use a keypoint to try to find her. If her path has crossed the way we’re going I’ll see it.”

Perfuma nodded. “I have rune powder, it’ll be easier than calling on the Heart Stone.” She took out the small envelope of powder and held it out to him. “How are you going to lock it on to her?”

“I’ve studied Princess Entrapta’s work most of my life. She uses synthetic oil for most of her inventions. I have a vial of it for my arrows. I’ll use that to narrow down the target… it’s the best idea I’ve got.”

“It’s a great idea.” She said with a tight smile. She may have been in pain, but she wasn’t turning back now and she was lucky to be teamed up with Bow. He was the bravest monster slayer she had ever met. “Let's do it.”

He took the envelope and poured a few drops of the oil on to it before mixing it into a paste. He bent down and drew the keypoint on the base of the wall and then rubbed his finger over one of his eyes, and then carefully did the same to Perfuma. Looking around he didn’t see any trace of the inventor yet. “Alright. The cells are down this way.” He let her go first and then followed behind. If anyone did see them it would only look like he was transferring a prisoner.

They moved slowly, keeping their eyes open for any sign of trouble. As tempting as it was to run ahead, Adora had stressed the importance of remaining undetected. They were in the heart of the Fright Zone, a wrong turn and they could be in grave danger.

Perfuma stumbled to a halt and backpedaled into Bow right before he turned the corner. “Hunters” She hissed in a whisper, pressing back against him.

He glanced around her shoulder and could see two witch hunters walking down the hall. They each had anti magic rifles at the ready. “Oh no no no, this isn’t good. There shouldn’t be a patrol here.”

Perfuma looked around, they needed to get down that hallway. “Come on. We stick to the plan.”

“What?!” He hissed. “But-”

“It’s a good plan. If we wait too long, who knows if more of them will show up.”

Bow swallowed down his nerves and nodded. He stood straight and tightened his grip on the rifle he had taken from the Noman.

Perfuma let out a long breath and raised her chin, walking out in front of the witch hunters.

“You there halt!”

Bow clenched his jaw as he stepped out from around Perfuma. “I caught this witch uh… near the gardens!” He raised the rifle at Perfuma. “I’m bringing her to the containment cells.”

The two hunters looked at each other for a moment before one shrugged. “There are gardens?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Uh… they’re evil gardens.” Bow bit out. “Full of poisonous flowers and... Bugs!”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

They lowered their rifles and watched as the faux witch hunter marched his captive down the hall and out of sight. 

They couldn’t help it, as soon as they turned the corner they broke out into a run. The thin lie wasn’t much comfort and they didn’t slow down until they had put so many twists and turns between them they were sure it was safe.

Bow felt like throwing up and bent forward to put his hands on his knees. He took deep gasps of breath and wanted nothing more than to get back to Brightmoon and drink hot cocoa. “That was close.” He looked up at the witch who was leaning against the wall next to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, let’s find Entrapta and get out of here.” Perfuma moaned. Her head was pounding now, she couldn’t calm her breathing long enough to gather her magic. It felt like it was slipping away and she was emptying out. She opened her eyes and looked back at Bow. “How close are we to the containment cells?”

“Not fair, but look.” He pointed down the hallway to a dark archway that seemed to lead toward stairs. On the floor there was a shimmering iridescent trail that lead up the stone steps.

The witch gasped. “The keypoint!”

“We’ve got her trail, now let’s go get her!”

***

Adora and Glimmer stuck close to the stone walls as they snuck through the castle. Adora used as many back passages as she could to keep them hidden from sight. She tried not to think about growing up here with Catra. She tried not to notice the smell that grew stronger the closer they got to the Black Garnet chamber. The hot smell of Shadow Weaver’s magic that had been both a comfort and a fear. She tried. She really did.

“Adora, slow down.”

She looked back over her shoulder at Glimmer and stopped. The witch was breathing heavily and starting to sweat. “Are you alright?!”

“I just need to catch my breath that’s all. This place feels so humid.” Glimmer untucked the lace at her collar and shoved it into her pocket before taking her jacket off and tying it around her waist. “How much further?”

“Not far. The Black Garnet is just beyond that last set of doors.” She pointed down the hallway. “Can you teleport us in from here?”

Glimmer nodded. “Get in, grab the sword, get out. Easy.”

The monster slayer knew better then to argue with the witch. Glimmer knew her limits and once they had the sword they could get out of the Fright Zone. They locked arms and the world around them turned into light.

Adora felt a sudden weight and had to grab onto her friend as Glimmer lost her footing. They reappeared on the other side of the door in the glowing red light of the Black Garnet. “Glimm- Ahh!” Adora felt the staticy blast of an anti magic strike her shoulder and she fell to the ground, Glimmer still hooked in her other arm.

“Heey Adora.” Catra purred, glaring down at her from the riflesite. “Thought you’d never make it.”

“Catra… thought you would be out celebrating.” Adroa bit out through clenched teeth. She quickly looked around the room.

The ceiling was so high it disappeared into darkness, cabals hanging down like nooses from above and in the center of the room stood the twelve foot tall rune stone of the Fright Zone. The base of it was cracked and ancient tech was wrapped around it, anchoring it to the floor. It pulsed deep red, illuminating Catra and Scorpia… and the sword. It was resting on a table nearby, the blue stone in its hilt still shining.

“If I knew how easy it was to bait you here I would have done it weeks ago.” Catra laughed. “Don’t know why we even took the woman, all you care about is this sword.”

Adora growled. “That’s not true! Where is Princess Entrapta?! What did you do with her?!”

“You should really be more worried about yourself.”

Glimmer yanked her arm away and disappeared in a flash, an anti magic blast smashing against the wall behind where she had been. She reappeared next to the table but Scorpia was already there, her long armored tail swiping out faster then she could grab the sword.

Glimmer squared her shoulders and brought of her fists like Adora had taught her.

Scorpia scoffed. “That’s cute.” Her tail lashed out and she slashed forward with her claws. “But your stance is all wrong. You’re gonna lose your footing with your legs that close together.” One of the claws connected with Glimmer’s arm and the witch was pretty sure her bones broke. She cried out but didn’t give up, lowering herself to the ground and sliding her back foot back.

“Thanks for the tip!” She roared, throwing a punch and launching a flash of light with it.

Adora glanced between the fight and the rifle and launched herself at Catra while the magicat was distracted. She shoved the barrel of the weapon away and threw a punch of her own.

Catra staggered, and hissed. She dropped the rifle and lashed out with her claws, trying to blind Adora. She pulled her arm in quickly and kicked the monster slayer in the ribs, sending her back against the door. “Don’t forget, I had the same training as you.”

“You always cheated.” Adora spat, getting into a fighting stance.

“That’s because there’s no point in losing.” Catra pounced and the two of them became a flurry of blows.

Glimmer could feel her magic depleting faster and faster. Each attack she made seemed to use up more of her energy than the last. Her left arm hurt to move and she couldn’t keep it up, her shoulder was bleeding and she was gasping for air while Scorpia didn’t look like she was breaking a sweat. She knew she needed to save enough magic to teleport out, but the longer the fight went on the less sure she could control that. She heard Catra’s yell. She was right, there was no point in losing. Glimmer stumble back from another swipe of the poisonous tail and used what magic she had left to throw her hands out, a blast of light threw Scorpia back. She had just enough time to reach out and grab the sword. “Adora!!”

Adora looked over and reached out, catching the rapier in mid air.

“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”

The oppressive anti magic field of the room vanished as a blinding rainbow light flared out from Adora. As it faded, standing in her place, was SheRa.  
The mythical warrior stood eight feet tall, wearing a sleeveless military cut uniform and holding a broadsword with a familiar glittering blue gem. Her eyes were impossible pale and were glaring down at Catra. She raised the sword of power over her head but a blast of anti magic caught her in the chest. The unnatural glow dimed but she didn’t lose her footing as Scorpia leveled the rifle for another shot.

This time the blast was blocked by the sword and SheRa charged forward, swinging her blade and cutting through the ancient tech like it was butter. Scorpia didn’t baulk though and tried to stab her with her tail.

Arms wrapped around SheRa’s waist and a second later she was standing in an empty hall with Glimmer.

The witch looked ready to pass out.

“Glimmer!” SheRa caught her just as her legs gave out.

“I’m fine. We need to find the others and get out. Even SheRa can’t fight the entire horde.” The witch argued, trying to stand.

SheRa caught her under her arm and looked around, trying to get her bearings. “We stick to the plan.” She caught sight of a collection of pipes suspended against the ceiling leading down toward a narrow doorward. “This way. We follow the water pipes until they connect with the sewage and meet up with Mermista.” She looked down at Glimmer who was pale and sweating, her arm hanging limp and blood still dripping from her shoulder. “Just hang on.”

***

“Alright Emily, I do believe I have successfully mapped out this level of the Castle. If we travel up two flights of stairs and head west we should be able to find the aerocopter hanger. I want to study those!” Entrapta leaned forward through a stone archway and looked up the spiraling stairs. Over the last few hours she had noted an increase in witch hunters patrolling the halls and more automatons stationed at doorways. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the hour or if they were on the lookout for her. As far as she could tell she had been ‘missing’ for eight hours. Though admittedly she was very bad at keeping time even when she wasn’t absorbed in learning about a castle made of ancient tech.

Emily gave a beep in alarm and Entrapta nearly jumped out of her skin as a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Princess Entrapta!”

She spun around, coming face to chest with the man from the witch’s ball. This time he was dressed in the black and red colors of a Horde witch hunter.  
Emily beeped a warning again and two small metal arms released from her casing, one with a tiny drill and the other with a tiny welding torch.  
Bow and Perfuma jumped back, both ready to attack.

“Ahh! No, this is Emily! I built her.” Entrapta yelped, wrapping her arms around the bot to keep it from charging at the pair.

Bow looked over the strange sphere with a spinning dome on top swiveling between all of them with a purple light. “You built that?”

Perfuma looked around the open hallway. “But… you’re a prisoner.”

“Oh I escaped hours ago!” Entrapta said cheerfully. “I’ve been mapping out the castle. It’s full of ancient tech like you wouldn’t believe! The automaton charging stations have two conveyer belt stations that use-”

“We’re here to save you.” Perfuma said, staring at the inventor in confusion.

Entrapta blinked slowly, her mind needing to shift gears to this new topic. She had never been kidnapped before, so she had never been saved before. “We should go then. The witch hunters have increased their rotations through the castle and the bots are starting to patrol with charged weapons.”

“Yes. Going. That is a great idea.” Bow took out his datapad but the interference from the ancient tech made the map unreadable.

Entrapta got on her toes and looked over his shoulder. “The corruption’s deteriorated your data crystal faster than I would have predicted.” She said in wonder.

“That sounds very bad.” Perfuma moaned. “How do we get out of here then?”

Bow put the datapad away again and turned to Entrapta. “We’re supposed to follow the plumbing to the sewage output. Did you come across anything like that while you were mapping out the castle?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “The plumbing system through the castle is fascinating! There are dozens of steam engines pumping hot water from the magma pits below ground throughout the castle! I followed several of the pipes to a maintenance room. There are automatons using tanks to purify-”

“Umm, we don’t really have the time for a science lesson.” Perfuma cut in, trying to stay on topic without seeming rude.

The excited light faded from the scientist’s eye. “Of course.” She looked up at the ceiling and pointed to one of the pipes bolted there. “If we follow this it will lead us to a maintenance room. There’s a hatch we can use to follow the sewage out.”

Bow traced the pipes with his eyes. “Then let's go. We’ll meet the others and go.”

“Others?”

“Adora and Glimmer are looking for the Sword of Power.” Bow explained as they started following the pipes.

Emily beeped in a low tone and trailed after them.

“Is it coming with us?” Perfuma asked, glancing back at the bot. The ancient tech around her had nearly drained her completely, the thought of riding back in the Nomad made her stomach flop. If this bot was going to stick with them she didn’t think she would be able to shake the feeling until she was back home in Plumeria.

“Emily has the most advanced tech I’ve ever encountered built into her processor, of course she’s coming! I can’t wait to get her back to Dryl and study her more, imagine the upgrades I can install once I have access to my lab.” Entrapta patted the bot’s side happily. “She’s amazing.”

***

“This. Is. Not. What. I. Signed. Up. For!” Mermista panted as she slashed her trident through the air, commanding a wave of water to rise up.

She and Sea Hawk had been waiting for the others to rendezvous with them at the sewage outfall pipe at the base of the castle. It was far enough away from the village proper not to catch any attention and Adora assured them no one would come their way. It had been over an hour and the pair were getting worried. There was no back up plan if no one showed up. Mermista was far enough away from the castel not to have her magic drained as quickly as the others, but she couldn’t go in blind to rescue all of them.

Sea Hawk had spent most of the hour hmming a song and patrolling their location. They were in the Fright Zone and he wanted to have a story to tell when they got back to Selineas. Keeping an eye open for danger had suited him just fine, until it got boring.

They knew keeping the escape route clear was important, but sitting next to a river of polluted water that was as thick as mud, smelled like bad eggs, and the color of tar was not pleasant.

It was a simple question that had got them into trouble though.

***

“Say, if you’re here to help with a quick escape. How well does your magic work on water that… consistency?” Sea Hawk asked, glancing between the river and the witch.

Mermista was leaning back against a stone wall, idly sharpening her throwing daggers. She looked up at him with boredom apparent on her face before looking over at the water. She sighed. “I can control water naturally, as gross as this place is, it’s still water.”

“Well sure, I just mean, in a pinch. It’s not going to be a problem right?” He had watched several shapes drift by in the current, and saw more than one slow bubble of gas pop from it. He was a sailor and not even he wanted to touch it.

She grumbled and put the dagger away before standing up straight. She walked over to his side and lifted a hand. Normally he would have seen something magical happen… but he didn’t even see the current slow. She frowned, putting both hands in front of her and pushed down. The edges of her fingers glowed faintly and she looked to be straining against something. She slid a foot back and grabbed the metal rod at her side, giving it a flick to extend it into a golden trident. She gestured through the air and the river finally shuttered. Ripples formed and she drew a tendril of black water up into the sky before letting it crash down again. 

She looked over to Sea Hawk. “Still water.”

He grinned. “You’re one powerful witch to control water that has the runoff from a castle made of ancient tech.”

She thought that over and smirked. “Yeah I-”

She was cut off by a thunderous splash. They turned to the river with weapons at the ready. Four large tentacles emerged, dripping black water and thrashing through the air. Four more reached out to grab the shore and draw the hulking bulbous body forward. As the water dripped from it several filmy yellow eyes opened, looking around wildly for what had disturbed it’s slumber.

“Monster.” Sea Hawk breathed out, looking around for higher ground. He had never fought a river monster before, and he didn’t want to get dragged closer.

“Ya think!?” Mermista threw one of her daggers at the beast and ran farther downriver.

It screamed as the blade pierced its flesh and slammed its tentacles after her, narrowly missing as she slid past.

***

Inside the castle wasn’t going much better. SheRa was beginning to feel the effects of the ancient tech surrounding them. After being hit with a rifle blast and carrying Glimmer she was fading quickly. “Got to hand it to you.” She bit out, straining to keep going. “If you hadn’t fought off Scorpia I wouldn’t have gotten the sword back.”

Glimmer smirked as she struggled along. “Sure you would have. You’re full of surprises.” They paused as they came to the end of a passage. They could hear movement up ahead. Lots of it. “I can still teleport us, I can get us past this next section.”

SheRa looked down at her friend. “No, I can fight them off. You should save your magic and run past.”

“What? If I don’t use it now we may not get out of here.”

“Glimmer you have to save your strength. It’s a long road back to Brightmoon after this.”

The witch looked ready to argue but only nodded. “Let's do this.”

SheRa looked around the corner, there were half a dozen bots and nearly as many hunters. She let go of Glimmer and charged ahead.

It caught the witch hunters by surprise and she was able to knock one of them into another, causing a domino effect that bought her enough time not to get surrounded. She raised the sword and blocked anti magic blasts from the bots as they all turned toward her. The blasts fizzled against the blade but with so much ancient tech around her she couldn’t keep it up. She felt another and another hit the sword but soon enough her arm dropped and a blast hit her in the side. She cried out and arched her sword, sending out a blast of magic. It flared out, throwing the six bots back into the stone walls with enough force to crack theri casing and destroy their inner workings.

The witch hunters scrambled to get to their feet, all of them equipped with magic dampeners to protect them. SheRa caught a glimpse of Glimmer as she took the chance to run past.

It almost worked. If not for an unblocked blast caught SheRa off guard. She fell to her knees and the sword scattered across the floor. Glimmer stumbled to a stop, a burst of glittering light slammed into one of the witch hunters who got too close to the fallen hero.

SheRa looked up at her friend, the magic draining from her completely. The faint glow fell from her body and in her place, Adora sat.

There was a collective gasp as the witch hunters found their one time friend before them.

Adora used their moment of hesitation to roll forward and grab the rapier. She angled her strike and stabbed upward into one of the rifles power packs. It sparked and exploded, giving her an opening to run past. She grabbed Glimmer’s wrist and they both disappeared in a flash of light.

***

Bow and Perfuma ran down the spiral stairs nearly two at a time. Entrapta had been right about the directions, and at the end of these stairs there would be a door that let out to the sewage pipes. From there it was just getting to the mouth of the outtake pipe and meeting up with Mermista and Sea Hawk. Bow glanced back over his shoulder. Entrapta was only a few steps behind, she had her arms full of her long purple hair so she wouldn’t trip as she ran. The bot, Emily, was bouncing noisily along with them down each step. “It’s just up ahead!” She warned.

Perfuma reached the landing first and yanked on the handle. The door swung open and the smell hit them like a sledgehammer to the nose. “Ah, this is offal!” The witch covered her face, tears coming to her eyes.

Bow stuck his head out and could see over the ledge a black river of muck. “Well, I’ll say we found the sewage. What do they eat in the Fright Zone?”

Entrapta sniffed the air. “Most of this is run off from tech production. The water from daily use here in the castle is purified before it is filtered and recycled.”

“That’s…comforting… lets go.” Bow held the door as they all rushed through the door.

***

The river of sewage was wide, but there were two walkways that followed along it. Above them a thick green mold grew, glowing and giving them light to see by. Entrapta looked up at it, wishing she could stop to take a sample. Bio-luminescent mold probably produced a bacteria that lived off of the waste produced here.

A crash echoed through the tunnel as a flash of light blinded them.

“Glimmer!” Bow yelled as he spotted his friends on the walkway opposite them.

Glimmer and Adora grinned despite the exhaustion and pain they were in. “Bow!”

“We found Entrapta!”

“We got the sword!”

They kept pace with each other as they ran toward the exit. The two walkways separated further from one another as the river grew wider and slowly down before dropping off and dumping out of the castle. They came to a halt just as they got free. Separated by the river wasn’t ideal, but the monster ahead of them wasn’t in the cards. Adora was feeling better now that her magic was locked away in the sword. She let go of Glimmer’s hand. “I have an idea, I’ll be right back!” She yelled, rushing off into the maze of streets.

“Adora!” Glimmer panicked, looking around she could probably teleport to the other side of the river but she didn’t know about a return trip to get Adora now that she had run off. She growled in frustration.

Bow nocked one of his arrows and shot the beast. Upon impact it discharged a current of electricity, causing it to seize up for a moment. The monster let out a roar of pain as it shook free and turned its attention to the archer, trying to grab him with a sticky tentacle.

Entrapta stared up at the monster with wide eyes. She had never seen a live one up close before! It’s body was massive, the tall tale signs of rapid growth were evident in the scarring of its skin adn the way the muscles and fat were disproportionate throughout its body. Normally monsters had magic unnaturally melded with them, but this one wasn’t giving any indication of magic. Perhaps it was the runoff it was bathed in. The ancient tech would have dampened the magic inside of it until it was nearly starved. Entrapta tried to get a better loop but Emily bumped against her and pushed her away. “There must be ancient tech melded into it! It’s natural impulse to recharge it’s magic has been replaced with consuming magic to fill the void the tech causes. Fascinating!”

The monster grunted, digging five of its tentacles into the ground and trying once more to pull itself free from the muck. Cables and wires could be seen piercing its thick skin, the more of its body that was pulled from the water, the more dread spread through the group. It was so massive the water level seemed to drop as it heaved its body onto land. The head was bulbous like an octopus but a seam ran along the sides of it. It opened, black water pouring out as row after row of teeth appeared. The back of its head opened up to display a large mouth capable of swallowing them whole.

“We need to leave!” Bow yelled, firing more arrows.

“Adora’s not back yet.” Glimmer yelled back across the river.

A wave of water rose up and tried to push the monster back but it was too big to move. “Well we need to go! She knows where the Nomad is!”

“She’s also the only one who knows how to drive it.” Sea Hawk reminded as he jumped out of the way of another tentacle. “Watch out! It’s reach seems to be growing!”

A low buzz filled the air and Adora appeared. She was piloting a supply Ghost, a small flat open air craft that hovered off of the ground. She grinned, circling around to gain momentum.

Glimmer teleported over to the rest of the group. “She’s going to drift it over the water, we need to get farther back so she can land.”

They started backing away but the monster was drawn closer by Glimer’s use of magic. Its body rolled forward and the eight tentacles lashed out.

Bow and Glimmer fell backward to avoid them while Sea Hawk and Mermista jumped aside. Perfuma tried to block the tentacle aimed at her with a blast of magic but the monster absorbed it on impact. The witch was wrapped up and pulled toward the river.

Entrapta was the closest to her and reached out, grabbing her arms. The tentacle wasn’t expecting resistance and it slowed down just long enough for Emily to roll around it and shock it with a small metal probe.

Perfuma was released and toppled onto the smaller woman. “Thanks!”

“We’re not safe yet-” Entrapta yelped in surprise as the tentacle wrapped around her ankle and yanked.

“No!” Perfuma’s hand grabbed empty air as Entrapta was pulled away.

Emily beeped loudly, rolling backward and charged the tentacle again, this time using all of the small tools Entrapta had installed in her casing. The scientist was thrown to the ground and the bot immediately zoomed toward her.

The buzz of the Ghost’s engine grew louder as Adora gunned it. She yanked the wheel to the side and let the momentum pull it across the river. It spun as it hit the other side. She steadied the wheel and aimed the cannon at the monster. Two quick shots and it hissed angrily, turning its body away and trying to pull itself back into the water.

Perfuma got to her feet and tried to reach Entrapta but the monster got between them and slid back into the water, dragging Entrapta and Emily with it. “No!!” The witch screamed, running toward the river’s edge.

Mermista waved her trident and the water thrashed, but she was too weak to bring anything up. She caught up with Perfuma just as she reached the edge. It was too dark to see through.

“She was pulled under-”

“You can’t jump into that!” Sea Hawk yelled, already pulling off the witch hunter’s uniform he was wearing. “It’ll eat your magic up if it touches you.” Before he could dive in Bow caught his arm.

“It’s too thick, you’ll be going in blind.”

“I’m an expert swimmer, I have to try.”

Adora watched in confusion from the Ghost. She scanned the area frantically. Entrapta was just there! She drove the Ghost ahead and helped Glimmer on board. “What happened?”

“The monster, when it dove back into the river it took Entrapta.” Glimmer explained. She plopped down on the floor of the Ghost, looking back at Adora. She wasn’t sure if it was blood loss or shock of losing the woman that made it seem cold and far away.

“We-” A blast of anti magic shot out, then another. Adora looked up and found a battalion of automatons flooding the level above them. “We have to go!”

Sea Hawk and Perfuma looked at each other in dismay, but there was nothing they could do. The woman hadn’t come back up, and they couldn’t wait any longer.

They rushed to the Ghost, climbing on to it as Adora piloted them out of the Fright Zone.

***

The commotion inside the castle did not quiet the farther the witches of power got. It got much, much worse. News of the witch attack was circulating and everyone was on high alert.

Catra felt the sting of loss more than anyone else. She had the sword of power in her grasp, and in the blink of an eye it was gone. The witch she had captured had most likely escaped. There was nothing to show for any of it.

“Cheer up Wildcat.” Scorpia said as she walked over to the sulking woman.

“Cheer up?!” Carta hissed. “Is this a game to you?”

“No, but we’re no worse off then we were before.”

“We’re also no better.”

“Now, I wouldn’t say that exactly.” Scorpia sat down next to the magicat. The hiss and echo of the intercom system came to life throughout the castle. Everyone froze to listen. 

“Shadow Weaver, report to the throne room. Immediately.”

Catra looked at Scorpia with wide eyes. She had never heard Lord Hordak speak over the com system himself. She jumped to her feet, rushing down the hall toward the throne room. She and Adora knew the perfect place to hide when it came to listening in on Hordak’s meetings. She came to a stop in an abandoned walkway and climbed up the railing and pipes to a vent high overhead. She couldn’t see anything from here and cupped her hand around her ear. 

“...Yes Lord Hordak?” 

There was a long pause and Catra feared that she couldn’t hear what was happening.

“Shadow Weaver… How long have you known Adora was SheRa?”

“My Lord that is a ridiculous rumor-”

“Do. No. Lie. To. Me.” He hissed. “My automatons showed me the recordings. How long!?... Is this why you have been wasting our time going after the girl?”

“She is powerful, we can use her-”

“I ordered you to forget the lost witch hunter. She is a tool of the enemy now. If you want to continue to collect witches, you will not disobey me again.”

“...Yes Lord Hordak.”

Catra grinned widely, her tail twitching in satisfaction. Maybe Scorpia was right.


	5. Back to the Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The witch alliance deals with failure, Adora comes to terms with hard lessons, and Entrapta is left to her own devices in the Fright Zone.

Entrapta sputtered and coughed, choking on fresh air as she sat next to Emily. Well, what was left of Emily. The bot had released the locks on its casing to open up and scoop the tiny woman inside seconds before she would have been dragged into the water. It had been a very messy and tight squeeze, most of her hair hadn’t made it into the bot and was now covered in the black gunk. It had worked though. Emily had managed to crawl out of the river and back into the castle before falling open and dumping the inventor on the walk way they had taken to get here.

“That was quick thinking.” Entrapta reached over and patted the bot’s dome head. “I’ll get you back in one piece and then we need to get to one of the water purification rooms. We should wash this stuff off as fast as possible.” She looked at her hair and made a face. It would be easier to cut it off, but that was the last option only. She helped Emily reassemble her casing and bolted it shut again. The bot gave her a low tone beep, turning back toward the river. The woman looked that way and shook her head. “I don’t think the witch’s are still out there. The ancient tech of the castle would have been painful to be around. They probably just need to recharge before coming back.” She looked up at the glowing mold. “Besides, there’s plenty here to keep me busy. Don’t worry, we’ll get cleaned up and stay out of sight.”

She carefully collected her lengths of hair and twisted them up into twin buns to keep most of it out from under foot. It would be nice to get clean. She was having enough trouble with overflowing tactical stimulants, she didn’t want to feel dirty on top of that. It was a slow and careful walk back into the castle. Emily was still leaking black water and was off balance as she rolled along, leading her to bump into walls and beep in alarm. Entrapta put out a hand to stop the bot just as they got back into populated parts of the castle. She looked around the corner, keeping an eye out for any patrols, then quickly pushed Emily ahead of her toward one of the rooms the pipes branched from. 

Inside there were massive tanks of clean water that were running through filters before being pumped back up into the castle.

“This room seems completely automated. I’ll have plenty of time to clean up and get your systems back in order.” She said happily, pulling off her boots and coat. The white dress she wore was worse for wear but was all she had at the moment. She pulled one of the water release levers and the filtered water started pouring out into the grated drain area. She winced, clamping her hands over her ears at the thunderous noise. She didn’t have much choice. Biting her lip she quickly climbed into the drain area and into the water.

Everything was uncomfortable. Her skin was sending alarms to her brain and she could barely think over the noise. She focused on scrubbing herself clean and rinsing her dress and gloves thoroughly before climbing out. Pushing the lever up the water slowed down and then finally cut off. She twisted her hair up into tight buns and then braided the ends to help keep it off of the ground. She rang out her dress and hoped it dried while she worked on Emily.

The bot was much easier to clean and after taking most of her apart she was put back together even better than before. Tighter casing sems and faster release hatches would make sure that if they ever needed to perform that quick rescue maneuver again it wouldn’t mean she would fall apart afterward. “Well, you still drift to the left, but that’s alright. I think it gives you character.” Entrapta laughed, hugging the bot tightly. “Now, there’s so much more of this castle to see. Let's get going!”

***

Catra had decided the rest of the morning was meant for a nap. She awoke feeling better than expected. She stretched, her tail fluffing up and then lazily curing around her as she sat up in her bed. There had been no scheduled hunts since the witch attack earlier, so she found herself with free time on her hands. She looked across the room at the mirror positioned there. She was smiling. Despite the failure of the witch’s ball. She could still hear Lord Hordak’s voice in her mind and Shadow Weaver’s submissive whining. It was like music to her ears. Finally Lord Hordak saw Shadow Weaver the same way she did.

It had been infuriating to waste her time hunting down Adora, when they should have been concentrating on taking the Whispering Woods. Finally she would be able to- 

The rhythmic knock on her door disrupted her thoughts and she gave a low growl as she opened the door.

“Catra-” Scorpia nearly swallowed her tongue and looked up at the ceiling. “Where are your clothes?!”

Catra rolled her eyes. “I was asleep. I sleep in my underwear. What do you want?”

“You answer your door in your underwear?” Scorpia asked, eyes still firmly on the ceiling.

“You’re the only person who knocks like that.”

“Wait- you don’t mind if I see you in your underwear?” Scorpia looked back down.

“Scorpia! Stay on topic! What do you want?” Catra gestured for her to come in and closed the door behind her.

“Oh! Right, sorry. Lord Hordak wants to see us.”

Catra’s fur fluffed up. “WHAT?!”

“One of Lord Hordak’s automatons found me and gave me the order. We’re to meet him in his throne room.”

Catra swirled around, rushing to her closet to get dressed. “Urgency Scorpia! You should have started with that!” She pulled on her pants and blouse, trying to get the lace collar straight while fastening her vest.

“Well that was my plan but I was a little distracted.” Scorpia looked around Catra’s room. “You know what would look good in here, a tapestry. I have some spares. I’ll get you one to hang up. Maybe on that wall over there. Something in a nice blue color-”

“Do you know why he wants to see us?”

“Hm? Oh, no the automaton didn’t say anything about that. Just for us to report there. Do you think it has anything to do with us trying to get an audience with him last night?”

“You better hope not. We don’t have the sword to give to him any more.” Catra gave herself one final look in the mirror before they headed out.

“Right. Do you think it might have something to do with us taking an aerocopter out last night without an official-” She was silenced by the glare Catra gave her. “Right… I’ll just hope not.”

They walked through the castle without any one giving them a second glance. It was as though nothing had happened at all. Other than the occasional extra bot on rotation, nothing was out of place. The throne room doors were massive and were guarded by two automatons both equipped with weapons. Their upper half was dressed in loose witch hunter robes while their bottom was made up of a swiveling sphere that allowed it to move freely throughout the castle floor.

“These things always give me the creeps.” Catra muttered quietly as they drew closer. The two automatons had porcelain faces that reminded her of Shadow Weaver’s mask. Except they had painted un blinking eyes to give them some sort of life-like appearance. Just below the paint was a sem that ran across the cheeks that was filled with flickering lights. Presumably some sort of ancient tech that allowed them to read their environment.

“I don’t know, I think they’re pretty neat.” Scorpia said as they stopped in front of the machines. “Force captains Scorpia and Catra reporting.”

The two automatons gave no indication of hearing them but moved away from each other, giving them clearance. The giant black doors seemed to take a moment to unlock and then cracked open with a hiss of pressure before opening fully to let them in.

The throne room was lit by numerous warm flamed candles. A thick plush red carpet with gold detailing designs of geometric bats lead them further in toward the lone throne in the back of the room. Thick tapestries of dark red ran down the stone walls. The candle light did little to pierce the shadows that crept in from the high stone ceiling. Catra had only been inside the throne room twice. Once when she was a child, and then again when Lord Hordak had pinned the Force Captain’s pin to her collar. She had been so nervous then she barely remembered it. Just red eyes in a pale face glaring down at her. She glanced at Scorpia, but the taller woman didn’t seem nervous at all.

They came to a stop at the foot of a staircase that lead up to the high backed throne. Directly behind the throne there was a tall arched stained glass window illuminated with some sort of artificial light that glowed red. It was so bright the figure seated before them was hidden and only two piercing eyes could be made out.

“You wanted to see us sir?” Scorpia asked with bravado Catra did not feel.

“Force Captains. I have a mission for the two of you.”

Catra’s tail twitched. She had been given orders before but never by Hordak himself. Shadow Weaver was always the one to call upon them and deliver the missions. If they had been called here directly then Shadow Weaver was in bigger trouble then she had thought. The magicat had trained all of her life to be a force captain, to hunt witches and become a leader in the Horde, this was what she wanted.

“A rare monster has been detected in the Whispering Woods. I want it captured and returned to Horde Castle.”

Catra felt her ears lower. “Capture a monster?”

“Is there a problem, Force Captain Catra?”

“No sir.” She bit out.

There was a pause that went on a moment too long, making her worry they would be dismissed.

“The monster is a giant bat. Extremely rare to this side of Etheria. I want it captured with minimum force and brought back alive.”

Catra looked over at Scorpia. Her confidence seemed to be waning. “Yes sir.”

“You are dismissed. Take what resources you need.”

The two force captains gave a curt bow and then left the throne room. As soon as the doors slammed sup and the automatons were back in position Scorpia gasped like she had been holding her breath. “What are we going to do!? We’ve never captured a monster before!”

“Don’t sweat it. It’s just a dumb monster. We take a ghost and-”

“Giant bat.” Scorpia cut in.

“...Fine, we swing by the development facility and see what they have. Lord Hordak did tell us to take what we needed.”  
“I guess.”

“Relax, at least it’s not witches.”

***

The war room at Brightmoon was solemn. The Nomad had gotten the group back to the Whispering Woods but no farther. The trees had grown around it and vines had nearly pulled it apart as they climbed out. It had been a slow and silent trip back to Brightmoon after that. It wasn’t until guards found them that Glimmer collapsed from exhaustion and felt safe again.

Adora had scrubbed her skin raw trying to get the feeling of the Fright Zine off of herself. She hadn’t touched the sword again, afraid that if she turned into SheRa would still feel the ancient tech draining her of magic. She tried not to think about how badly everything else had gone. She wanted to pretend like the last twelve hours were just a nightmare. Somehow losing Entrapta in the last second felt worse then if they had found her in Shadow Weaver’s clutches.

Now, seated at the war table no one spoke.

Glimmer had recharged her magic and her wounds had been cleaned and stiched. Her arm was in a sling close to her body and she looked ready to pass out despite the magic she was surrounded by. Bow had showered and changed but had his arrows laid out before him on the table, tinkering with them all to occupy his mind. Mermista, Sea Hawk, and Perfuma had all been given fresh clothing but that alone wasn’t enough to make them feel better.

Queen Angella was sitting quietly, wearily looking over the witches and monsters slayers. She had warned them, but what was done was done. She would be angry with her daughter once she was healthy again. “You were all brave.” She began. “Going into the Fright Zone must have been painful for all of you, and making it into the castle is a feat that no one before you has ever accomplished.” She looked to Adora. “You were able to retrieve the sword of power. Returning our champain, SheRa.”

“And we still failed!” Glimmer cut in. “We’re all thinking about it. We all know it’s true…”

Angella shook her head. “You could not save Princess Entrapta. But if you hadn’t gone at all there would be no telling what would have happened to her. It is not a comfort, I know, but there is nothing more that can be done.”

“She was fine until we intervened.” Bow said quietly. He looked up at the queen sadly. “She had escaped from the witch hunters.”

“Bow, you can not think like that. You have no idea what would have happened to her if you had not gone. I can not tell you not to mourn, but do not blame yourselves. Any of you.”

Perfuma took a slow shuddering breath. “I think… it would be best if I returned to Plumeria. For good.”

“What?” Glimmer looked over in shock.

“She’s right. We need to get back to Selineas.” Mermista pushed her chair back to stand.

“But what about the witch alliance!?” Glimmer got to her feet. “We can’t fight the Horde alone!”

“The Horde is full of witch hunters. We need to return to our own kingdoms and protect the witches there.” Mermista said. “Frosta has the right idea.”

Adora paled sharply.Everything they had been working for was crumbling apart. She could see the panic on Glimmer’s face and felt it in her own heart. “Wait-”

“Let them go.” Angella said as the others left the room, leaving Bow, Adora and Glimmer behind.

“Mom-”

“Glimmer. They are hurt, just like you. Not everyone heals the same way, or at the same time. You are home with your runestone and your family and friends, they are not. Let them go home to recharge. They may return, but holding tighter to them will not make anyone feel better.”

Glimmer clenched her teeth together but dropped back into her seat. “Fine” She knew her mother was right. “But what are we going to do?”

“The same thing we have been doing. Protecting the Whispering Woods and its people as it protects us.” Angella turned to the two monster slayers. “Bow, Adora. There have been reports of a monster in the Southern area of the woods. You must dispatch it quickly before it gets closer to the villages.”

Bow gave a sharp nod and collected his arrows. He gave Glimmer a sympathetic look., but between her broken arm and her mother he didn’t think she would be able to sneak out for this mission.

Adora stood up slowly. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to use the sword of power again. In fact all she was sure she wanted was to go back to her room and not have to face her problems. Queen Angella was right though. They needed to protect the Whispering Woods. If anything happened to it then the Horde would be able to march forward on Brightmoon. She glanced over her shoulder as she and Bow left, but Glimmer was only staring down at the table.

As soon as the door closed Angella’s hand was on her daughter’s shoulder. She knew she would want to teleport away, but this talk had been put off long enough.

“I know! I messed up! I put everyone in danger, got hurt, lost Entrapta… It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have gone! I shouldn’t have-”

“Stop that.”

Glimmer blinked back tears and looked up at her mother.

“When I lost your father I struggled to accept it. I had a kingdom to protect, witches to guide, and you to raise. I grieved, but I never placed blame on anyone but the Horde. It is not your fault Glimmer. None of it was. You did not mess up. From all accounts there was nothing anyone could have done. You helped Adora get the sword back and you stuck to the plan. Princess Entrapta’s demise is a tragedy. One that will be felt throughout all of the kingdoms, but it is on the Horde’s hands. They took her. They put her in danger.”

“We were so close to saving her…”

“I know.”

Glimmer stood up suddenly and threw her arm around her mother as she cried.

***

“Oh Emily! I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy!” Entrapta cooed as she looked through one of the windows into what looked like an assembly factory. “We seem to have discovered one of the Horde’s mass weapon production halls. I read about them in old files. But this is nothing like what was mentioned.” She rushed over to the door and attempted to pull it open.

Emily rolled into it and held it shut, beeping an alarm.

“Don’t worry. The assembly bots here aren’t programmed to react to anything else in the room. They won’t even see us.” She pulled the door open and slipped inside, Emily rolling after her.

Entrapta looked over the weapons that were being made. Basic antimagic rifles. Designed to blast focused energy fifteen meters. The energy would pass through a barrel made from ancient tech, all inscribed with a magic dampening sigil. It was very simple, and very boring. She picked up one of the rifles and grabbed a small bag of tools from a work bench before climbing up onto a table to get better lighting. “I’ve gotten countless rifles like this in Dryl. The monster slayers collect them from battlefields and send them. Most of them are useless. The energy shard gets used up really quickly and burns the sigil off. So it gets weaker with each blast. A terrible design really.” She cracked open the rifle. There was a red crystal that fit into the palm of her hand inside.

“These are synthetic crystals, not meant to be recharged…” She turned it over and held it up to the light above her. “Horde technology is amazing… I haven’t been able to create synthetic crystals this pure in my own lab. That they have them mass produced is simply… I need to find out how they do it! But in the meantime-” She pulled the rifle barrel off and looked inside. “The sigils are your standard work. Witches think that the ancient tech is what does the damage but its really this here. It causes the magic they have built up to be dispersed. They think the blast absorbs it… pfft, that’s silly.”

Emiliy beeped at her.

“I know! Anyway, if you place the shard here, and reroute the blast like this, and carefully etch a new line through the sigil here…” She snapped the parts back together. “Tada! This is much more dangerous.” She opened up another rifle and made the same modification. “Now… this is all well and good but it has to be tested.” She looked around but there was nothing with magic nearby. She sighed. “In Dryl I had a huge practice range to test out all of my inventions, I don’t think I’ll have any luck with that here.” She reached out to take another one when Emily spun around and beeped loudly. The bot bumped into Entrapta and ushered her out of the room just as a door at the far end opened.

“Alright, we’re taking the Nomad X for a spin and I want everyone to have an antimagic rifle.” Catra said as she walked in. Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle followed behind her. They each went to the wall where racks of rifles waited. They were used to being issued weapons and despite this new mission being about capturing a monster, they took it seriously.

“The Nomad X?” Kyle asked.

“Lord Hordak wants this monster captured alive. The Nomad X is the only land vehicle we have that has space. Once we have the thing paralized, we need to get it back to the Fright Zone as soon as possible.” Catra explained, walking down the rows of weapons. She picked up one of the rifles that was laying on a workbench and holstered it across her back.

“Why does he want a monster?” Lonnie asked as she pulled on a chest plate and grabbed shoulder pads. “We usually leave those to bother the slayers.”

Catra pounced, landing in front of the other woman. “If you want to question Lord Hordak’s orders, be my guest. Though chances are, you won’t be joining us.”

Lonnie bit back her retort and snorted. “I just like to know what we’re getting ourselves into that’s all. We can capture a monster.”

“Good. Now go find Scorpia, she’s supposed to be getting the electronets. We need to leave soon, I don’t want any monster slayers getting in the way.”

Lonnie smirked. “You mean Adora, or should I say SheRa?”

Catra’s fur puffed up. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Everyone’s talking about it. We knew Adora abandoned us, we just didn’t know she had gone and turned into a witch.”

The magicat’s claws tore into the wall behind Lonnie’s head, leaving four long gashes. “Shut up and get to the Nomad!” She ordered. She drew back and swirled around, her tail twitching as she stormed out of the room.

As the three witch hunters left Kyle couldn’t help but ask. “Why do you push her?”

Lonnie spared him a sideways glance. “I just push back. Now let's go and make sure we have enough electronets to paralyze a monster.”

As the last of the voices faded, Entrapta opened the door at the far side of the room and stuck her head back in. “Looks like they’ve all left. I shouldn’t stay around here much longer if witch hunters use this room often.” She headed to the workbench she had been using and grabbed the bag of tools, then paused as her eyes widened. “Ooooh, one of the rifles is gone, The witch hunters must have grabbed it to take with them on their mission. Straight out to a field test, I like it! If only I could record the data…” She spun around for a moment, trying to refocus. “I should have installed a data retrieval module, though without my lab equipment it would be hard to view it.” She reached out and patted Emily’s head. “Let’s get out of here before more hunters arrive. We’ll come back later.”

***

“Soooo, do you want to talk about it?” Bow asked Adora as they walked through the Whispering Woods. They had been walking for hours with nearly a word said between them.

“Do you?” She muttered back. They fell back into silence as they walked. Not even the trees seemed to be talking. The path to the Southern villages was well worn and didn’t appear to be leading them off to danger. Neither monster slayer would have noticed it did though, both of them were miles away in thought.  
Bow sighed. “Adora, you’re not acting like yourself.”

“How do you know, maybe this is how I act when we fail a mission.” She shot back.

He stopped walking and she reluctantly stopped a few feet away.

“That’s what I’m talking about! You didn’t even act like this the first time we met, and Glimmer and I captured you. You thought you were being brought to Brightmoon for execution. You didn’t act like this after Selineas or Plumeria when you saw first hand what the Horde was doing and you were forced to fight Catra yourself.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “Last night was hard for all of us. Bottling up your feelings isn’t a healthy way to deal with things. I’m your friend, I’m always here to listen.”

“You were there, you’re upset too. You shouldn’t have to listen to me complain!”

He shrugged. “Sometimes people need space and time to recharge. Listening to other people’s problems all the time can be draining, but I’m asking you Adora. I want to know you’re okay.”

“Are you?”

He sighed. “No. Princess Entrapta is gone. I don’t even know if Queen Angella has told the kingdom of Dryl yet. I don’t know what it means for her family, or her people, or even the rest of Etheria. I do know I did everything I could to rescue her from the Fright Zone. I’ll be sad about it for a while, but for now it’s just in the back of my mind.”

“I don’t know how to think like that.” Adora said softly. “I might never think like that.”

He nodded. “Yeah, everyone’s different. If you want to talk, I’ll listen. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

She was quiet for a long moment. “I- was I selfish?”

“What?!”

“Was I selfish? I went after the sword and not Entrapta.”

“Adora, you made the rescue plan. There were so many of us, that if we had all gone after her we would have been spotted for sure. You’re SheRa, no one-”

“SheRa wasn’t any help either! The antimagic rifles and the ancient tech drained her too. I wasn’t any help.” She flinched as Bow raised a hand, but it only fell softly on her shoulder.

“None of this would have been possible without you. Forget SheRa. You, Adora. You made that plan. You got us in. You got us out. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

She looked up at him. “She would still be alive though.”

“You don’t know that. The witches that the hunters bring to the Fright Zone are drained of their magic and then drained of blood. Leaving her there wasn’t an option we even want to imagine.”

She gave a slow nod. It would take more then this to convince her it was true, but it helped. “What about the witch alliance?”

“You’ve only been with the rebellion for a few months. I’ve been a part of it most of my life. We survived this long without the other kingdoms, and I’m sure we’ll get them back. We’re stronger together, and we won’t leave them behind.” He looked around at the trees around them. “Would have loved to have Perfuma here talking to these trees though. My datapad is still on the fritz from being in the Nomad.”

Adora looked up at the trees and the dabbled light coming in through their leaves. “I was trained to track and hike in the Fright Zone. I can get us where we need to go.”

Bow grinned. “Yes! Use those skills for good!”

She gave a small laugh. “Right. Come on, this way’s South.” She touched the halt of her sword and didn’t shy away from it. It was a tough lesson to learn, but she wanted to learn it.

The Whispering Woods seemed to know that something was not right the farther they walked. The branches and leaves became thinker until no sunlight reached them. Vines grew thorns and the path became overgrown with thick roots that the two monster slayers had to climb over. “Well, whatever this monster is the Woods are trying to keep it from getting any closer to Brightmoon,” Bow said. “Usually the trees can move and redirect it away, but if it’s making this much of a barrier then it must be pretty bad.” He pulled his bow from his back and readied an arrow as they continued walking.

Adora had been giving the title of monster slayer when she joined the rebellion, both because she had defeated a monster to protect Bow and Glimmer, and because she was no longer a witch hunter. She was still new to this though and let him take the lead.

Soon enough the woods grew almost too dark to see despite the time of day. The sounds of trees tearing and shuddering echoed out to them as they continued to move forward at a careful pace.

Then they saw it.

Bow lowered his arrow for a moment as he stared at the monster. “No wonder the woods are trying to trap it. It can fly. If it gets out of here no telling what damage it will do.” He said quietly.

“It’s a bat” Adora said in wonder.

“A bat? Are you sure, I’ve never seen a bat like this before.”

The giant bat was the size of a horse and was holding on to a tree, its wings wearly wrapped around the entire trunk. The whole of its back was covered in coarse black fur, its skin was pale and pulled tightly over it’s muscles. It raised its head and its jaw seemed to unhinge as it screamed.

The two monster slayers covered their ears in pain.

Bow aimed his arrow, but he couldn’t see a vulnerable spot once it lowered its head again. “I don’t think I can get through its fur and muscles.”

“It’s got evolved back legs, if you can get it off the tree it may land. Then it’s soft underbelly will be exposed.”

“Gottcha.” Bow fired two arrows consecutively. One exploded near the bat’s face and the other pierced into one of the claws it was using to hang on. It screamed again, detaching its claw and sending bark and chucks of wood raining down.

Adora dashed forward and rolled behind a bush, hoping to remain undetected until the bat was on the ground.

Bow loosed another arrow and ran the opposite direction.

The bat screamed as the bolt exploded and finally released its hold on the tree. It turned in midair and landed heavily on the ground. It’s back legs spread out, its huge claws digging into the dirt. It’s wings folded back and the claws on its knuckles hit the ground with enough force to shake it.

“I don’t think it has a soft underbelly!” Bow yelled. Glancing back all he saw were muscles and what looked like natural plating that seemed to shift with its movement.

Adora rushed forward and pulled her rapier from her belt. She rolled behind the bat and stabbed it. The monster turned around in less than a heartbeat. It snarled at her and tried to bite her with its fang filled mouth. She stabbed again, dancing on her feet to stay out of the way. The rapier drew blood but didn’t seem to be doing enough damage to slow the bat down. She fell back as a wing slammed into her. She rolled with the impact and got to her feet.

“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”

SheRa caught the bat’s jaw on her bracer just as it bit down. Jerking right then left she was able to throw it off. It roared at her as it got back to its feet, circling its prey. The mythical hero twirled the boardsword around in her hand and leveled it at the monster.

A low buzz filled the air before a hollow echo sounded as a giant net was launched into the air. SheRa watched in shock as it blanketed the monster and released a charge of electricity. The monster screamed as another net was launched from the other direction, falling over the first. She looked around and spotted the witch hunters making their way through the trees.

Bow was at her side the next moment. “What are they doing here?”

“I don’t know, monsters were never something we hunted.”

“Well we need to do something fast. You’re hard to miss.” He said, gesturing at the faint glow she put off.

“Right. Whatever they’re doing can’t be good. Let’s split up and circle around.” They raced back into the undergrowth.

***

Scorpia directed Kyle as he drove the Nomad X through the trees. It was a difficult ride with the plant life trying to stop them, but the larger vehicle had enough space to secure the unconscious monster. She held up her claws to signal him to stop. “That’s good enough, we don’t want to get trapped here.” She looked over her shoulder toward the screams of the bat and winced. It sounded very large and dangerous. Catra had taken Lonnie and Rogelio further on foot to subdue the creature. Splitting up wasn’t the preferred plan, but with the turran acting against them they needed to move quickly.

An arrow zoomed past her, then another, both nearly hitting her. She looked up into the trees to find Bow reaching for another arrow. She pulled one from the ground and threw it back with enough force to embed it into the trunk only a few feet from him. He yelped, switching arrows and firing a net at her.

She reached up, letting it wrap around one of her claws harmlessly then tossed it aside. “Kyle, go help the others, I’ll watch the Nomad.”

Kyle grabbed didn’t have to be told twice. He jumped from the controls and made a dash for the trees. 

Bow tried to aim a net arrow at him but had to dodge and deflect the second arrow Scorpia threw at him.

“What are you doing in the Whispering Woods!?” He demanded.

“Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head over.” Scorpia grabbed the ladder on the back of the large vehicle and pulled herself up, careful to keep an eye on the archer and his arrows. She got to the cannon just as the arrow he released exploded into smoke, blocking her sight.

Bow looked back through the trees. If they needed that bat so badly, he needed to stop them. He jumped for the nearest branch and raced back toward Adora.

***

Catra watched as the bat slowly stopped fighting beneath the nets. Hordak wanted it unharmed, so that was what he was getting. She was going to show him that he didn’t need Shadow Weaver to give orders. She was going to enjoy watching the woman fall from her standing. She- “Kyle! You’re supposed to be with the Nomad.” She grumbled as he stumbled into the clearing.

“There’s- monster-slayers!” He panted, pointing back the way he had come.

Lonnie and Rogelio stopped trying to drag the giant bat and grabbed their rifles.

“Forget the slayers, just get the bat back to the Nomad.” Catra ordered.

“CATRA!”

The magicat felt her fur go on end as she turned around and found SheRa standing across from her. The sword of power was in her hand, pointing down. Catra growled, marching forward.

“Whatever you’re doing here, you don’t have to do it. You can leave, you can-” SheRa’s pleading was cut off as rifle fire shot out, hitting her in the arm and chest.

Catra swirled around to find Lonnie with her weapon raised, barrel still hot. They locked eyes for a moment. Adora hadn’t just left the Fright Zone, she had left her team. She had left her friends. If SheRa was their enemy then so was Adora.

SheRa shook off the hits and raised her sword. She wasn’t going to let them take the monster, not alive. She barely took a step forward before another rifle blast hit her in the chest. She felt the air leave her lungs. Bruising blossomed across her skin instantly and she was thrown back. The sword flew from her hand and tumbled backward into the underbrush.

Catra looked down at the antimagic rifle in her hands with wide eyes. She had never seen one do that kind of damage before. She looked back and Lonnie was staring too. “Get the bat to the Nomad!” She turned back to the prone SheRa and grinned. Walking forward with her tail twitching she looked down at the woman. “I don’t have to go back...That’s what you were saying. Well I don’t want to leave Adora. The Fright Zone isn’t the same without you.” She leveled the rifle barrel at her. “It’s better.”

The blast went wide as an arrow forced the weapon to jerk to the side. The magic in the plants died instantly, leaving behind blackened blades of grass. She glared up into the trees to see the archer glaring back at her.

The low sound of the Nomad X roaring to life could be heard through the trees and she pounced away, easily hiding in the woods as she ran back to meet up with her party.

Bow dropped from the tree. “Adora!”

SheRa coughed, sitting up slowly. “I’m alright. Did you get a look at the automaton that ran over me?” She winced, her entire body hurt.  
“Catra hit you with an antimagic blast. Are you alright?”

The glowing faded and Adora was left in her place. “Owwww. I think I’ll live. Antimagic never felt like that before.” She looked at the patch of dead grass. “If it had hit one of the witches…”

“Yeah… The Horde must have upgraded their weapons. Let’s get back to Brightmoon and report.”

“They got away. With the monster.”

“True. Whatever they have planned for it can’t be good.” Bow brought her the sword and then helped her to her feet. “Let’s get out of here and find a ride back home.”

“Yeah...I could go for a nap.”

“A nap sounds great.”

***

“What happened back there?” Lonnie asked, looking across the Nomad to where Catra was strapped into her seat. The magicat had gotten back to them just as they were taking off. Plants had tried to block their path, but Scorpia had used the cannon to free them. Inside the bat was secured tightly in the electronets and Kyle was driving them back.

Catra glanced at her, her thoughts scattered. “What do you mean. We got the monster, that’s all.”

“No, I mean with the rifle. Did it malfunction?”

“The…” Catra looked down at the rifle she still had clenched in her arms, the shaft of an arrow still sticking out of it. The blast it had fired had thrown SheRa backward. “I don’t know. Probably some new tech Lord Hordak was working on.”

Lonnie gave a slow nod, then leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes.

When they returned to the Fright Zone there were a dozen automatons waiting to collect the giant bat. Their mission was recorded as a success and they were left to their own devices after that. Catra wasn’t sure what to do with herself. They hadn’t had a real win like this since before SheRa had arrived. She supposed she shouldn’t expect Lord Hordak to congratulate her himself.

“Hey. I was thinking, since we’ve had a rough couple of days. Maybe you and I could um, have a nice dinner in my rooms. You know, since you don’t really like the mess hall.” Scorpia asked, clicking her claws together as she and Catra walked down one of the hallways back toward the weapon assembly room.

“You know what, that actually sounds ni-” Catra’s voice failed her as she opened the door and found herself looking at the purple haired princess from the ball.

Scorpia looked into the room from around the door and gasped. “It’s the witch!”

Entrapta had been so busy modifying a stun baton she had found that she hadn’t been paying attention to the doorway. After spending most of the day sneaking around she figured no one would come back here. She jumped and spun around. Emily beeped threateningly and spun around with her.

Catra raised the rifle, arrow still stuck in it. “Stay where you are and don’t try any spells!”

“Oh its you two!” Entrapta grinned. “I’m not a witch.”

The rifle lowered a fraction of an inch. “What?”

“I’m not a witch. I tried to tell you before but I was always gagged. I’m just a princesses.”

“But you were at the witch’s ball…”

“Uh, Wildcat, so was I. I’m not a witch either.” Scorpia reminded.

Catra dropped the rifle to her side and groaned loudly. “Come on! We didn’t even kidnap a witch!?”

“What are you still doing here?” Scorpia asked.

“Oh, well I think my rescue didn’t go exactly as planned.” Entrapta said quietly. She looked down and then gasped. “You have it!” She rushed forward, taking the rifle from Catra. “Did you use it? What did you hit? What was the outcome? How fast did it take to recharge another bolt? Why is there an arrow in it?”

The witch hunter flinched back from the woman’s onslaught of questions. “What are you talking about?!” Her tail flicked angrily.

“This rifle. I made some modifications to it. That’s what I do, I study ancient tech and invent new weapons and machines.”

“You build weapons… for the rebels?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say it’s exclusive. I develop weapons for all the kingdoms.”

Catra finally relaxed, grinning. “Well… we were just about to go eat dinner. Why don’t you join us and I’ll tell you how your modifications worked out.”

Entrapta lit up, bouncing on her heels. “Yes!! I want to know everything!”


	6. Magic Overload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta gets her hands on the Black Garnet, much to the displeasure of Shadow Weaver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jezz 8000 words?! What's wrong with me

Entrapta had been in the Fright Zone for a little over a week and she wasn’t sure if she was still classified as a prisoner or not. She was brought back to Scorpia’s rooms and the clawed Force Captain had given her pillows and blankets and made sure there were always tiny sandwiches and fizzy drinks for her. It wasn’t half bad considering the other option was a cold empty cell. She had turned the stateroom into a miniature lab, the tool bag she was had stolen from the assembly hall had provided useful to take apart the weapons Catra had brought her. There were a half dozen modified rifles and their parts scattered around her as she sat on the floor working. She had never seen so much ancient tech in such good condition before and she wanted to study all of it.

Emily was next to her, her dome head swiveling back and forth as the inventor started to assemble something from the left over pieces of the torn apart weapons. She beeped and used one of her spider-like legs to push a piece closer. “Thanks Emily” Entrapta said without looking up. She hadn’t slept much, the lack of natural light in the Fright Zone made it difficult to keep with an accurate circadian rhythm, and she was far too interested in the tech to give sleep much thought.

Scorpia was sitting in one of the big comfy chairs by the fire, her chin resting on a claw as she watched Entrapta work. She didn’t understand any of it, but the tiny woman hadn’t stopped to sleep or eat for hours and the new invention she was working so furiously one was something new. There was a knock on the bedroom door and she jumped up. “I’ll get it!”

“Are you don’t yet?” Catra asked, marching into the room past Scorpia. Her tail twitched back and forth as she went. The princess hadn’t been hard to keep secret, but without something new Catra was starting to think she was more trouble then she was worth. It didn’t help that there had been no new witch hunts to keep them busy. The witches had been keeping the Horde forces at bay and she was stuck here babysitting.

Scorpia frowned. “Entrapta’s been a huge help with modifying all of our rifles-”

Catra flicked a piece of scrap metal with her boot and glared at the taller woman. “We haven’t gotten to go out and test them and now it just looks like she’s making a mess.” She bent down to be eye level with the woman seated on the floor.

Entrapta’s attention immediately snapped to the witch hunter. She was never good at reading people, or understanding their individual traits. Catra was shaping up to be one of the most difficult she had encountered. The magicat was nice to her, but only for short periods of time. She brought her weapons and ancient tech, but then demanded results far faster then Entrapta was comfortable producing. She had to skip the testing phase, and didn’t have enough data collected to improve her designs and didn’t even have the tools she needed to build what she thought up. It was infuriating.

What ever Catra was about to say died on her lips at the glare she received from the inventor. “What cha got there?” She asked, pointing down at the metal sphere Entrapta had in her lap.

“It’s an antimagic pulse grenade.” She held it out to Catra and the weight of it was surprising. “It has five charges, each timed a minute apart.”

The magicat turned the sphere over in her claws and looked at it with wide eyes. “How clever.”

“I don’t have a proper lab here, or tools. It’s all I could make with the leftover parts you brought me.” Entrapta twisted her gloved hands together and she looked away, eyes searching the metal bits that she had left so she didn’t have to keep eye contact with the woman in front of her.

Catra rolled an idea around in her head. She reached out and ran her hand through Entrapta’s long purple hair, startling the inventor. “You’re right,” She purred. “This isn’t a proper lab. You’re in the Fright Zone, in Horde Castle, the most technologically advanced place on Etheria and you’re using scraps. We’ll have to remedy that.” She stood up. “Come with me.”

Entrapta blinked slowly, trying to understand what was going on. She got to her feet, brushing out her stained and ruined dress.

“Um, Wildcat? What’s your play here?”

Catra spun the grenade on her finger tips for a moment and grinned up at the taller woman. “If Princess Entrapta can make this from garbage. Just imagine what she could do with the full resources of the Fright Zone behind her.

Entrapta bounced on her feet and clapped her hands together. “Yes!! I want that!” She giggled, imagining all of the ancient tech she hadn’t gotten to see yet. Maybe even an aerocopter again, this time from the outside where she could study the engine in detail. 

“Right… but Shadow Weaver isn’t going to let her near anything.” Scorpia glanced between the two women, not sure how they were going to get Entrapta into any of the development labs without being caught. They hadn’t even been able to get her her own room or fresh clothes yet.

“Well, then we’ll just have to go straight to Lord Hordak won’t we.” 

Scorpia looked down at the bubbly inventor and wasn’t sure she was ready for that. “Couldn’t we just-”

“Come on. Time’s wasting.” Catra cut her off, leading Entrapta out of the room. Emily beeped and retracted her legs, quickly rolling after them.

Entrapta didn’t give it a second thought. If Catra was going to let her walk down the hallways instead of hiding then she would take it. She hadn’t been able to walk through the castle in days, her mapping of this floor was only eighty seven point five percent complete. There was so much more she wanted to record. There were water pipes that pumped clean filtered water all the way through the castle, why? What was all of it used for? If Lord Hordak designed the automatons, weapons, and vehicles like Scorpia said, then what else did he design? What were they based off of? Where were the synthetic crystals made? How were they made? She nearly ran into Catra as the woman stopped in front of a large set of large doors guarded by two automatons. She gasped, looking at both of them. “I haven’t gotten a close look at any of the castle guards. Is their programing more complex than the ones on lower levels? Why are their faces painted? Who paints them-”

“Entrapta,” Catra said firmly. “Why don’t we focus on meeting Lord Hordak first.”

Entrapta looked up at the large black doors and it seemed to register that it was the only thing standing between her and the feared lord of the Fright Zone. “Okay!”

Scorpia moaned, standing behind the pair. This wasn’t a good idea.

“Force Captains Catra and Scorpia to see Lord Hordak.” Catra said to the two bots. They stood frozen for a moment longer before rolling apart and leaving the door unguarded for them.

“How do they relay the message? Do they ever reply? Is it prerecorded full messages or pieced together responses-”

“Entrapta-

“Oh right!” She was nearly bouncing now. “Focus.”

Scorpia stepped up beside the small woman and gave her a smile. “ Don’t worry, he’s not that scary.”

The doors opened with a hiss of compressed air. Entrapta wanted to reach up for her recorder, but remembered it’s charge had long since died and she was left without means to document her discoveries. That was too bad, because the throne room was unlike anything she had ever seen before. All of her readings about the Fright Zone and vampires hadn’t prepared her for the massive room. There were candles! Not electric lights, and the stone walls were insulated with tapestries depicting battles and covered in the writing of ancients! She only caught a few words before Scorpia stopped her at the base of the stairs. She looked up, but the red glow from behind the throne blocked her view of who ever was seated there.

“Force Captains. What is the meaning of this intrusion?”

Catra took a small step forward. “Lork Hordak. Allow me to introduce Princess Entrapta.” She bowed and held out a hand to present the woman. “She develops weapons, and wants to develop weapons for the Horde.”

“I want to study the ancient tech you have here at the castle! It's unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” Entrapta pleaded, too overwhelmed at the idea of getting a chance to see more than to read the room and see Scorpia and Catra cringe at her outburst.

There was movement at the top of the throne and then the sound of heavy steps as Lord Hordak walked down toward them.

Entrapta had never seen monsters or vampires in person before she had been kidnapped. She had done her fair share of research on them with what information she had available, but none of it had given a description other than how dangerous they were. His eyes glowed red with no pupils or iris. His face was long and pale, with high cheekbones and no nose. His skin seemed to change color to a pale grey from his chin up to his long ears that reminded her of a bat. His shoulders were wide and his arms were long, his build was almost skeletal but he was dressed in grays and blacks, with sharp red accents and armor that made him seem just as dangerous as she had read. She looked up as he reached the bottom step in front of her, then had to crane her neck back even further. She barely came up to his hips. Fascinating.

“Princess Entrapta.” He said, his voice echoing out into the darkness of the room. “The inventor from the Kingdom of Dryl.” He bent down and reached forward, taking her hand in his large clawed one. He bowed, smirking as he brought her gloved hand up to his lips, showing a glint of red fangs. “It will be an honor to have you here.”

Entrapta was never very good at ceremony. She knew it was part of being a princess, but it had never been important to her. So standing with the Lord of the Fight Zone in front of her she felt as though she was supposed to be doing something… like curtising? She didn’t know how to curtsy. “Thank you”

He let her hand go and stood back up to his full height. “Now, to what do I owe the honor of your presence in the Fright Zone?”

Catra felt her heart stop. This was already too weird! If Entrapta said she had been kidnapped it would be on her head. “She-”

“Catra and Scorpia brought me! I’ve already modified several of the antimagic rifles they use to better focus the power crystal and decrease the drain speed between each blast.”

“Is that so?” Hordak turned to look down at Catra.

“Yes. Yes Sir!” Catra held out the grenade in the palm of her hand. “And she was able to make this antimagic pulse grenade. She just, that is- I’ve been bringing her the weapons I check out of the hall to work on. She hasn’t been given full access to our resources yet.”

“We will have to remedy this quickly. I have long since wondered about the mind behind the rest of Etheria’s technology. We shall make sure you are put to use here.”

Entrapta squealed excitedly. “I want to know how you make synthetic crystals! Their power is more stable then the natural ones found in Etheria, and the Horde’s synthetic manufacturing is light years ahead of my own abilities. With such large crystals I could power all sorts of things! My cannon bots could have longer transmitters, or they could even be programmed to self repair minor damage! I could-”

“Focus” Scorpia coughed into one of her claws.

Entrapta nodded, closing her mouth but still nearly vibrating with excitement.

Hordak tilted his head, one long ear twitching. “The synthetic crystals are all well and good but the runestone is far more powerful when it comes to energy.”

Entrapta froze, her eyes widening. “...I’ve never drained power from a runestone before…” She whispered. “IWANTTOTOUCHIT!”

Catra whined, hiding her eyes behind her hand.

“Force Captains. Take the Princess to the Black Garnet chamber. She is to have free reign there.”

Scorpia looked over at Catra in surprise. “Yes sir.” She put one hand on the small woman’s back to make sure she didn’t get distracted by anything else and directed her toward the way they had entered.

“Come on Emily!” Entrapta called. The bot that had been hiding in the shadows gave a beep and whorled by, quickly catching up with the three women as they left.

As soon as the door was closed and the automaton’s back in place Catra felt her legs turn to jello. She wobbled and stopped walking. What the hell had just happened?! She had been planning on talking Hordak into letting Entrapa stay, maybe get her a room, maybe access to the assembly hall… but this was insane. She looked at the princess. “How did you do that?!”

Entrapta raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Do what?”

“Get Lord Hordak to give you access to the Black Garnet!”

“Oh.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t do that?”

“He seemed like he knew who you were.” Scorpia said. “I guess that only makes sense. The Horde has been trying to conquer Etheria for as long as I can remember. You’re not only the ruler of a different nation but responsable for a lot of the opposition we encounter.”

Catra shook her head. “Fine, whatever. Let’s get you to the Black Garnet chamber. It’s this way.” She took the lead and started down the long hallway.  
“How long has the Black Garnet been in Horde castle?” Entrapta asked, looking up at Scorpia.

“Oh, it’s always been here. This wasn’t always Horde castle.”

Entrapta stopped walking and turned on the woman. “What?! But it’s the center of the Fright Zone, powered by ancient tech that’s not found anywhere else on Etheria.”  
“Well it’s grown since Lord Hordak took over. He brought the ancient tech here and integrated it into the castle. The Black Garnet’s always been here… it's just changed.”

“Changed how?”

“Well you’ll see.” Scorpia said.

Catra looked back over her shoulder as she led them through the castle. “I didn’t know that.”

“Really? It was covered in Force Captain orientation.”

Catra made a face of confusion. “I’m starting to think I shouldn’t have skipped that.”

They passed a group of witch hunters who stopped and watched them walk past with confused expressions. Catra and Scorpia were well known Force Captains, but the tiny woman with them was new. Nothing ever new happened in the Fright Zone.

The doors to the Black Garnet chamber weren’t guarded by automatons and most of the witch hunters avoided it if they could. Heavy wrought iron gates with decorative bats flying across them blocked the doors. As they approached the gates came to life. Entrapta watched with wide eyes as the metal bats flapped their wings and the bars folded back and twisted around like bramble to reveal the doors. They opened with another pressurized hiss and the red light from within flooded out.

Entrapta tried to take everything in as they entered but the runestone in the center of the room was very distracting. It was twelve feet tall, its facets gleamed, the deep glow from within pulsing. She looked over the cracks at the base where wires and cables encircled it and followed those as they disappeared into the darkness further into the room. With each pulse it seemed to grow brighter. “It’s unlike any other runestone I’ve studied.” She said in awe, walking toward it. She reached up to touch it and a spark of black lightning zapped out and stung her fingers.

“Don’t touch it!” Shadow Weave roared. She marched forward, slapping Entrapta’s hand away.

The inventor shrank back, holding her hand against her chest. Scorpia was at her side suddenly, stepping between her and the masked woman.

Shadow Weaver looked up and then over to Catra. “Get out! You shouldn’t be here.”

Catra shrugged and boldly walked forward. “Actually. We’re here so Princess Entrapta can use the Black Garnet.”

“Use? You don’t know how to harness magic. Get out before I have automatons drag you all out of here.” The woman hissed.

Catra grinned, getting close to her and poking the tip of her mask with a claw. “I’d just love to see you try.”

As the light dimmed around the room the shadows grew in size, swirling around Shadow Weaver and reaching for Catra.

“Force Captains. Take the Princess to the Black Garnet chamber. She is to have free reign there.” Hordak’s voice echoed out.

Shadow Weaver froze as the command echoed around the room. She looked up toward the dark ceiling. The shadows retreated and glowing yellow eyes could be seen. “She is to have free reign.” The voice repeated.

“I don’t know what you two are planning- or what you’ve said to convince Lord Hordak of this insane plan. The Black Garnet is precious, your clumsy ministrations will no doubt destroy the careful balance I have created!”

“If that’s how you really feel. Take it up with Lord Hordak.” Catra hissed.

The masked woman roared, in a swirl of shadows she turned and stormed out of the room, seeming to draw the darkness out with her.

Scorpia kept an eye on the woman as she left. She had grown up in the Fright Zone, had taken orders from Lord Hordak himself and fought witches and monsters. She knew her way through Horde Castle with her eyes closed… but there was something about Shadow Weaver that made her skin crawl. She looked back at the Black Garnet as it pulsed its red light. “What do you think you can do with the Garnet?” She asked, turning back to the princess.

Entrapta looked up at the taller woman, she was still rubbing her hand. “I should be able to boost the power it gives off. I need to study what it's connected to so I can fully understand what it’s capable of.” Her eyes lit up. “I’ve only ever been able to study other runestones from afar- I can figure out how its integrated with the ancient tech here and how it powers the automatons when normal runestone magic is drained when they come into contact. Is it to do with the modifications that have been made to it or is it the the volume of ancient tech that has been surrounding it for extended time?”  
Scorpia looked over to Catra and shrugged in confusion. “...Right”

The magicat rolled her eyes. “I’ll just take your word for it princess. So, what do you need?”

Entrapta reached out to the runestone but didn’t put her hand against it. The black energy gathered and pulsed but didn’t spark out and shock her. She grinned, bouncing on her toes. “Gloves, goggles and time. Give me time and I can boost the power the Black Garnet puts out.” She dropped her hand and looked around the room at all of the wires and cables. “Come on Emily! Let’s get readings up and test the output.” Emily beeped pleasantly and rolled off to push one of the monitors closer. Entrapta put her shoulder to another and pushed it forward, carefully arranging the machines that were hooked up to the runestone so she could use them.

“I guess I’ll go get those gloves and goggles and we had better just stay out of the way.” Scorpia said, watching as the scientist started to pull some of the wires down from the dark ceiling.

Catra crossed her arms and leaned back against one of the walls. “You get what she needs. I’m going to keep an eye out. I have a feeling this was too easy.”

“Sure thing Wildcat.”

***

“Glimmer! Your arm isn’t fully healed, you need to keep the sling on.”

“Mom! It’s fine.” The young witch moaned, trying not to lose her concentration on the spell she was working.

“It’s only been a week. You shouldn’t be exerting yourself.” Queen Angella argued. She had been reluctant to let her daughter start using her magic again and had only agreed under strict terms. The sling had been one of those terms.

“Mom!”

“Magic takes great care, if you’re not at your best it can easily-”

“Mom!” Glimmer winced as the spell in her hands flared up and exploded into harmless sparkles. She huffed and gave a roar of protest. That had been the fifth light bomb to explode on her. She knew her mother was only concerned, but after hearing about Bow and Adora’s run in with a giant bat and Horde forces she didn’t want to be on the sidelines any more. She felt fine, and with the Moonstone so close all of her magic was back. Of course… convincing her mother was she was fine was another story.

“Glimmer!” The queen raced over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m fine, really. I’ll just try again.”

“You shouldn’t-”

“Be exerting myself. I know. But you’re the one who told me not to give up.”

“You’re not giving up by letting your body heal.” Angella sighed and let Glimmer go. “Try again. But pace yourself.”

Across the courtyard Bow and Adora were sparing together.

The archer was hidden among the branches of a tree, arrow nocked and ready to fire. He knew he was no match for the other Monster Slayer when it came to hand to hand combat. His only chance at winning their match was to catch her off guard. Adora was skilled at tracking, so the slightest movement could give away his position in the trees. He let out a slow breath, eyes scanning theri makeshift fighting ring.

A flash of movement.

He turned and loosed the arrow. Adora swung her rapier and knocked it off course. She dashed ahead and jumped, catching the bottom branch of the tree he was hiding in. He yelped, jumping carefully to the next tree. He couldn’t get a clear shot at her through the branches and needed to change tactics. He pulled a dagger from his bandelier and threw it.

Adora swung a leg over the branch and let go with her hands. She swung back as the dagger whizzed through the air and pinned itself to the branch where her hand had been. She grabbed the leather sling from her belt and pulled a ball bearing from her pouch, letting the rest of them escape and fall to the ground, rolling in every direction. She spun the sling and launched the ball through the branches.

Bow yelped as he felt a sting on the back of his leg. He looked back but couldn’t see her through the leaves. Grabbing a low branch he dropped out of the foliage and landed on the ground. He pulled an arrow loose but before he could aim his foot found one of the ball bearings and he lost his balance. He pinwheeled his arms but couldn’t get his balance back. He fell and felt a heavy weight on his chest a moment later.

Opening an eye he found Adora perching over him, sword at his throat. “Point” She said with a grin. 

He laughed. “You cheated. Setting a trap wasn’t in the rules.”

Her smile dimmed for a second. “No point in playing to lose.”

He found it curious, but knew they were all still adjusting from last week. He patted her arm. “Good game, but you’re heavy.”

“Right- Sorry!” She jumped up and offered him a hand.

A blast of light zoomed by and hit a target at the fair end of the courtyard, exploding in a shower of glitter. They both turned to find Glimmer at the other end. They cheered, hollering her name.

Glimmer grinned and disappeared in a flash, reappearing between them and grabbing one of their arms in each of hers. “Yes!”

“Way to go Glimmer! That target’s back to your usual range.” Bow congratulated.

“You did great!” Adora looked back over to where she had started. Queen Angella was smiling proudly. Two of the castle guards walked to her side and were speaking to her quietly. The smile fell from her face. “Hey, I wonder what that’s all about.”

Glimmer looked over but before she could call out the queen waved to them. “Keep practicing, you’re all doing so well.” Then she turned and followed the guards back into the castle.

The young witch watched her mother leave. “Come on, we need to find out what’s going on. I know the perfect spell to use”

Bow frowned. “I don’t know Glimmer. Your mom’s the Queen. She’s busy with all sorts of stuff and she did tell us to keep practicing.”

Glimmer gave him a flat look. “My mom doesn’t want me to know anything about the Horde’s movement since the witch alliance disbanded… and I will be practicing a spell my Aunt Casta taught me. Now let's go!” They disappeared in a flash of light.

***

The Black Garnet chamber was lit up with rows of string lights that Scorpia had carried in. It seemed like Entrapta needed more than just gloves and goggles. There was a large monitor to one side of the runestone and a wide table connected to it. The inventor was on her hands and knees under the table, soldering several wires together.

“I have the… the… electrofilter thingy.” Scorpia called, leaning to look under the table. “Oh! Bright!” She jerked back and held out the strange device Entrapta had asked for.

“Thanks!” She grabbed it and clicked it into place. The table above her flickered to life and the surface of it vibrated.

“Ooooh, what’s this do?” Scorpia asked as she blinked and tried to get the light spots out of her eyes.

Entrapta pulled herself out and got up. “It’s an electromagnet holographic array.”

“A what now?” Catra asked, poking at it with a finger. There was a pop and a zap and suddenly all of her fur was standing on end. “Oh come on!” She pulled her arms over her head, trying to get her hair to flatten.

“An Electromagnet holographic array.” Entrapta said again, looking around the room for other supplies.

Catra huffed. “Explaining like not all of us know what that is.”

Entrapta stopped and looked at the magicat with a flat stare. “The magnets under the table will produce vibrations and the array I attached will make the top look like whatever I want it to.” She grabbed a bucket of metal shavings she had asked Scorpia to bring in and lifted it on to the table.

“Woah, those are heavy do you need some help?” The clawed witch hunter asked.

“No thanks, I do all sorts of heavy lifting in my lab back home.” She tipped the bucket over and dumped the shavings out. They scattered out and pulsed, spreading evenly across the surface of the table. She dropped the now empty bucket and dashed to the keyboard plugged into the monitor. “One map of the Fright Zone coming up!”

The tabletop pulsed again and the shards jumped but didn’t scatter. They slowly built up into a three dimensional map of the Fright Zone, complete with every small detail down to the people moving through the village below.

“Wow!” Scorpia leaned over the table. “This is amazing!”

Catra rolled her eyes and walked around the edge of the map. “But we already know what the Fright Zone looks like. I thought you were increasing the power to the Black Garnet.”

“The Black Garnet is what’s giving me these readings.” Entrapta tapped away at the keyboard and the map moved, spinning around and becoming smaller. The Fright Zone stayed at the center, but the could see past its borders to the kingdom’s around it. “The Black Garnet is unlike any runestone I’ve ever seen! It’s power has been flowing out with nothing to absorb it. Normally a witch would attune with it and focus its power. It seems that ancient tech is the only thing connected to it.” She looked over to the pair of watch hunters. “Fascinating!”

“And you can boost it?” Catra growled.

Entrapta reached over to the monitor and tapped the screen. The readings changed and she traced the dial at the bottom. The room went dark for a moment before the red light flashed brightly. “Already up five percent!”

Catra looked down at the map. The edges of the Fright Zone began to move. “What’s happening?”

Entrapta moved to the table and enlarged a section of the border. The plants around it were wilting and dying as the ground began to crack. “I’ve hypothesized for years that the Fright Zone’s expansion was a naturally occurring phenomenon due to the massive amount of ancient tech at its center, but it looks like the Black Garnet’s increase in power is speeding up the spread!”

“What does that mean!?”

The inventor sighed and lifted her goggles from her eyes. “The ancient tech absorbs magic. Etheria is magic. That’s why the Fright Zone doesn’t have natural flora and fauna like the rest of the planet. With the Black Garnet’s power output boosted, the ancient tech is spreading the Fright Zone’s borders at a rate you can see.”

“So… the Fright Zone is spreading faster then Etheria can stop it?” Catra asked.

“Sure, it won’t stay this way though. I’ll have to monitor the output to make sure the runestone stays stable. But if I can set the new output to this higher rating I estimate the growth rate of the Fright Zone to be increased to fifteen percent more a year.

Scorpia looked at the Black Garnet, she knew it was her family’s runestone, but she didn’t feel anything special about it. “So, this is good news then?”  
“It’s great!” Entrapta pulled the goggles back on and got back to the monitor.

“I’m inclined to believe that.” Catra said quietly. She tapped on Scorpia’s arm and gestured for her to follow her out of the chamber.  
“What’s wrong Wildcat? I thought this was what you wanted?”

“I’m not worried about this. I’m worried about Shadow Weaver.” She hissed, looking up and down the hallway. “I don’t trust her not to sabotage this. She left in a huff and you know she’d never let anyone near the Black Garnet, Lord Hordak’s order’s or not.”

Scorpia frowned hard, not liking what this could mean. “Entrapta’s got a lot of tech going that I haven’t got a clue how it works. If you’re really worried about sabotage what are we going to do?”

“You stay here, keep an eye on the princess. I’m going to find Shadow Weaver.” Catra turned on her heel and set off down the hallway.

“Right… good luck.” Scorpia gave the hallway a nervous glance before heading back in side the chamber.

***

“Glimmer I don’t know about this.”

“It’s magic Bow, it’s what I was born to do.” The witch waved off his concern, the small boiling cauldron on the floor between them. She had drawn out the array in blue wax, placed crystals at each cardinal direction, chanted her spell as she lit the fire and now had each ingredient correctly prepped.

Adora stared at the cauldron in wonder. She had watched witches do magic before, but never anything like this. “Do we drink it?”

“What? No! Gross.” Glimmer picked up her cutting board. “Most of this would be poisonous to drink Adora. Never drink a potion unless you know what’s in it. This is a seeing spell. We only need to see it for it to work.” She scrapped the seeds and diced leaves into the boiling water and the steam turned into a thick blue fog. It rose up and hovered around them.

Bow reached over and took Adora’s hand. He didn’t have magic either, and this stuff still weirded him out sometimes.

The fog moved around them and formed the silhouette of the queen. She was sitting on her throne and a guard was standing across from her. The fog slowly started to change color until it looked like the queen and guard were really there. “If it’s a seeing spell, how do we hear what they are saying?” Adora asked.

“Here, put this in your ear.” Glimmer handed both of them a ball of wax.

“...Do we have to?”

“Come on, this could be important!”

Adora picked up the wax and moaned in displeasure. She missed Horde tech some times.

“...The latest report was from the outposts at the edge of the Whispering woods. There has been an increasing number of monster sightings in the last hour, nearly fifteen monsters were spotted in the fields beyond the woods.”

“Fifteen!? That’s larger than the herd that passed during the solstice. Which direction are they headed?”

“We’re not sure. They’re not traveling far from the plains and are circling back every half hour. We’ve just gotten work from the border in Plumeria that the Fright Zone has begun encroaching into their fields. It’s taken nearly a mile of land already.”

“Send a troop of Monster Slayers to the fields but tell them not to engage unless they absolutely must. As for Plumeria… have they asked us for aid? Princess Perfuma made it very clear when she was last here that her alliance with us was finished.”

“They have not requested aid, but if much more of their fields are ravaged then their food stores will be compromised.”

“Begin organizing our rations. I want to know how much food we can spare for Plumeria.”

“Yes My Queen…”

Adora pulled the wax from her ear as the fog faded. “Oh no… What’s going on? Fifteen monsters!?”

Bow felt his stomach drop. “That’s so many! I’ve seen a whole troop of monster slayers struggle fighting two!”

“We have to do something.”

“Glimmer, that’s a wonderful thought, but your mom seems to have this under control.” Bow cut in. “I want to help too, but she’s already worrying about the flood shortage and the monsters… she’s only going to worry about you too if you go out there.”

“She won’t even know we’re gone. She told the monster hunters not to engage, so neither will we.”

Adora nodded. “She’s right Bow. If the monsters are acting weird, and the Fright Zone is acting weird, then SheRa should be there.”

He moaned in protest but didn’t argue further. “Fine… How are we going to get there?”

“I’ll teleport us to the stables and we’ll borrow some autohorses.”

“I’ve never ridden an autohorse.” Adora reminded Glimmer. “I’d never seen one before we met remember.”

“You can ride with me. Come on! No time to waste.” The witch grabbed each of their wrists and they disappeared, reappearing outside Brightmoon Castle. She huffed, trying to catch her breath.

“You sure this is a good idea? You haven’t been back out since the Fright Zone.” Adora asked. She didn’t want anything to happen to her friend.

“I promise, I’m fine. Besides we’re only going to get a look.”

The stables were attached to a blacksmith’s workshop. While there were live animals on Etheria, keeping them safe from monsters was much easier when they were not taken out into the Whispering Woods or into combat. Instead, machines that were modeled after the beasts were made. They had only basic functions, and limited power, but they came in handy in times like this.

Bow went ahead and got two autohorses for them, thinking it best not to let the princess be seen sneaking out of the city. He passed the reins over. “Autohorses are really easy to ride Adora, don’t worry.” He patted one of the machines and pulled himself up onto its back. “Mind the cooling canisters in the back and you’ll be fine.”

Adora looked over the machine and was happy they didn’t have creepy painted faces like the automatons in Horde Castle. “Right, mind the canisters.”

“Come on.” Glimmer offered her a hand up. “Just hold on and I’ll do the rest.”

She smiled and took Glimmer’s hand. “That I can do.”

They took off into the trees of the woods. The autohorses moved like horses but Adora could feel the metal plates and hot wires as they rode. It was unnerving. The trees seemed to sense their urgency and the path stayed clear for them as they raced toward the plains. It was nearly two hours later when they slowed down.

“I can’t feel my butt.” Adora moaned.

“I don’t think you want to.” Bow teased. “It takes a lot of practice to get your muscles used to this.” He looked around the trees. “We’re close to the edge of the Woods. The plains are just beyond that treeline. We should secure the horses and find a safe place to survey ahead.”

Glimmer slipped down from the autohorse and offered Adora a hand down.

“Uh, I know you should save your magic for emergencies, but I was serious about not feeling my butt. Can you teleport me down?”

Glimmer snorted and took Adora’s hand, but pulled her down before she could protest. The monster hunter hit the ground and yelped in pain. “Oof- Sorry!” Glimmer got her on her feet. “You’ll get used to it.”

Adora kept her legs apart. “Do I have too?”

Bow shook his head. “Autohorses are the best way to travel quickly.” He tied the reins to a low branch. “Now, lets see what’s going on.”

The three of them walked off of the path and slowly made their way to the treeline. The ground shook and an echoing roar vibrated around them. They looked at one another and Glimmer grabbed onto each of them before teleporting them up into the thick branches of a tree.

“Oh no…” Adora grabbed onto the truck to catch herself. Across the plans she saw them. A flood that spread out across the plains. Monsters. More than fifteen. More than she could count. All different kinds, some with wings, some with tentacles, extra arms, all with fang willed mouths. They fought each other, snapping at any that got too close and making a bloody mess as far as she could see.

“I’ve never seen so many.” Bow said in hushed awe.

Glimmer felt ill. “What are we going to do?! What if they come to Brightmoon?”

“No, they’re not going into the Whispering Woods. Whatever has them all out here isn’t controlling them.” Adora said. “They all seem wild, like they’re agitated. Monsters don’t usually group up. Whatever is happening in the Fright Zone is doing this.”

Bow moaned. “We can’t get to the Fright Zone. Not only is it in the other direction, if the plans are any indication, then that way will be blocked by monsters too.”

Glimmer shook her head. “This is crazy. There’s more monsters than I knew existed here! One or two get stuck in the woods and you slay them, but what are we going to do if any of these monsters make a move closer?”

“We should tell the queen. Brightmoon needs to know about this.” Adora said.

“The guards will report this, there are outposts along the edge of the wood not far from here. We should keep an eye on it… you know, in case we need SheRa.” Glimmer said, looking at her friend with worried eyes.

“Right. SheRa.” Adora looked out at the monsters and wasn’t sure what good the legendary hero would be.

***

Shadow Weaver had worked hard for her place in Horde Castle. She had left her home, left the life she knew before… This was all she had left. She wasn’t going to let a princess steal it. Before her was a basin of water, inky and black. She put her hands over it, palms down. A low growl filled the air and the room dimmed around her. Shadows crawled up the side of the bason and stretched up to her hands like strings. “If that girl wants the power of the Fright Zone, that’s what I’ll give her.” She grabbed the shadows and yanked up. Flashes of lightning erupted over the still water, lashing out and zapping the walls, scorching them black.

***

In the Black Garnet chamber Entrapta was monitoring the runestone carefully. She had increased the power output to seven percent and the radius of the Fright Zone was growing. She was most intrigued by the increased monster activity surrounding the border. She watched the metal shavings closely as they displayed the swarm of monsters. “They just keep gathering.”

Scorpia hid behind her claws. That was a lot of monsters. “What are they doing?”

“If I had to pose a hypothesis? I believe that monster’s are drawn to the power of runestones. Just like they are drawn to magic. So they must sense the Black Garnet.”

“They won’t come here will they?”

“Oh I don’t suspect they can tell a direction. After all so many things are powered by runestones it’s not like a beacon.” Entrapta tilted her head in confusion and reached for the map. She pulled at it and the border of the Fright Zone at the edge of Plumeria zoomed in. “Strange, the border seemed to have stopped expanding.” She turned to the monitor but the readings were the same. She tapped at the keyboard and turned up the power to nine percent. “No change… I’m boosting the output to fifteen percent.”

“That seemed like a lot.” Scorpia said. “Is that a good idea?”

“I have a safety protocol in place. If the power jumps unexpectedly then the monitor will cut off the machine’s I’ve hooked up to it. It should cut the power I’m drawing from the Black Garnet and it will go back to normal.”

“Should?”

“Well… I haven’t tested it.”

Scorpia took a step away from the machine attached to the runestone just in case.

Entrapta looked over the readings and sighed. “I don’t understand, with this output we should be seeing spikes in border growth.” She changed the view on the map but there was nothing new. “I’m increasing the power to twenty percent.”

***

Shadow Weaver struggled to push the shadows back down toward the water, they fought against her fiercely, flashing and twisting angrily.

***

“I don’t see-” Entrapta yanked her hand back from the monitor as the dial spun uncontrolled and the power rose above twenty five and then thirty percent. She looked back at the map and watched as the border exploded in places, taking over miles of land in minutes. “I’m not doing this.”

“Can you turn it off?”

“I can try, but I don’t know what’s making it react like this. The power output is doubling by the second!”

***

The lightning tore at Shadow Weaver as she forced her hands into the basin of water. The lights flickered dangerously and all over the Fright Zone the power blinked.

***

The metal shards over the table exploded everywhere and Scorpia raised her claws to protect her face. “I don’t think it’s supposed to do that!”

Entrapta had been shielded by most of them by Emily but her attention was still on the monitor. “I don’t understand. Something is increasing the power output! I have to disconnect the machine manually.” She grabbed the wires and yanked but a surge of electricity struck out and she had to release it. She looked back at Scorpia. “Get out! The machine can’t handle the output!” 

“What about you-”

“Go!” Entrapta looked back at the monitor as the number climbed passed fifty and kept going. She felt Emily tug on her dress but couldn’t leave yet. All of this data needed to be backed up or it would be lost!

***

Shadow Weaver grunted as the water bubbled up around her arms and splashed everywhere. She couldn’t hold on much longer. There was a sound. Like claws. Then she was yanked back and the water evaporated into steam. Clawed hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around.

Catra growled at her, her fur standing on end. “What are you doing!?”

“You foolish girl do you know what you’ve done!?”

***

Alarms blared and the red lights of the Black Garnet pulsed erratically around the chamber. Entrapta only had a second to guard her head as the machine and table exploded. The force of it threw her back into a console and she collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Emily had lost most of her casing but still tried to role to the woman’s side, beeping loudly.

“Entrapta!” Scorpia had been waiting for the princess in the hallway and had seen her fall. She ran back into the room to check on her. She didn’t see any blood, and she was still breathing. “Entrapta!”

***

“You know nothing of the Black Garnet! Tampering with it will erase all of the hard work I have put into it!” Shadow Weaver roared, she pulled back her fist and shadow’s pooled around her. Catra hissed and dropped low, kicking up with her boot. She caught the masked woman across the chin and she fell into a heap on the floor.

“No- you will erase your work here.” She growled at the moaning woman before grabbing her and putting anti-magic cuffs on her wrists.

***

Adora, Bow and Glimmer stared in horror as hundreds of trees died around them. The witch had to use her teleportation magic to get them to safety more than once and then finally back to their autohorses to retreat further.

“How is the Fright Zone expanding so fast?!” Glimmer yelled back to Adora as they galloped toward Brightmoon.  
“I don’t know! This has never happened before!”

“We have to get back and tell the queen! There’s no telling how far it’s spread!” Bow called over as they raced through the trees.  
“I don’t like this.” Adora looked back at the dead trees behind them. Whatever was happening wasn’t good… was it Catra’s doing?

***

“What happened?”

Scorpia froze in panic as Lord Hordak’s voice echoed around the chamber. She turned back to find him standing in the doorway, Catra behind him with Shadow Weaver over her shoulder.

“I… Entrapta was too close to the machine.”

He walked forward and knelt down next to the princess, his stature still towering over the Force Captain. He looked back at Catra. “You say Shadow Weaver was performing some sort of spell?”

“Yes, she was doing something that was affecting the Black Garnet.”

Scorpia paled. “Entrapta said she wasn’t in control right before everything exploded.”

He turned back and looked down at the purple haired woman. Carefully he reached down and collected her in his arms. She looked impossible small against his chest. “Repair this chamber to working condition. I want a report as soon as it's complete.” He stood up. “And put Shadow Weaver in a holding cell until I have time to deal with her.”

Scorpia scrambled to her feet. “Sir… uh, if I may- where are you taking Princess Entrapta?” She had a vision of him biting her and draining her of blood and she felt dizzy.

“The princess needs to rest. I am making sure nothing else happens to our guest while she heals.” He turned and walked back toward the exit. “That will be all Force Captains.”

Catra watched him go and looked back into the Black Garnet Chamber. It was a mess of parts and metal. Emily was still in pieces and beeped sadly. She looked at Scorpia. “Come on. We have work to do.”


	7. Magic Overload REMIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The vampire lord of the Fright Zone may be more then he appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short POV switch

Hordak survived by being faster and smarter than his prey. 

Over the years he had watched as the Etherians adapted quickly to the introduction of Ancient Tech into their daily lives. Building machines. Programming bots. Introducing power crystals to their weapons and even powering their cities with runestones. It would have been captivating to witness, if he hadn’t been stuck on the ball of rock and water with them!

He found that evidence showed these life forms to increase their rate of adaptation until they reached a peak and then implode. He didn’t want to stick around to have a front row seat to that.

The silver lining to this fate was that it had seemed far off. Etherians were too wrapped up in magic to put much belief in science. Magic had its limits, it had a hierarchy it followed, and it was a privileged few who could control it. That was until two decades ago.

He had sent a battalion of his forces into the village of Pinetown. A strategic move that would have increased his viable farming land and served to connect the Fright Zone to the Valley of the Lost. By all accounts it should have been an easy victory.

Then the reports started coming in. A dangerous weapon was leveling his troops. Concentrated beams of magic that came out of cannons. A single blast was enough to disrupt their transports and cause their antimagic weapons to overload. Direct contact of organic matter with the beam seemed to corrupt the tissue into mutations, no living samples were retrievable. Hordak hadn’t expected such an assault and was forced to call his troops back while he recalibrated their shields and armor. It cost him valuable time and when the troops attempted a second assault they were met with more of the cannons.

That had only been the beginning. More and more of the cannons were appearing. Each time he upgraded Horde tech the cannons were there to test them. He was sure that some Etherian scientist had uncovered usable ancient tech somewhere, but the rate it was reproduced told him it was more than that. Then the cannons disappeared and grenades took their place. The grenades were able to target smaller areas on the battlefield and erupt with a blast of magic that would disrupt the organic matter and not the shields protecting them.

It had been a pain to create new shielding for his men, and in the end he had to resort to smaller teams to go out in the field. The Witch Hunters were equipped with his finest anti-magic creations. They were able to move undetected and complete missions his armies had failed at. That at least had slowed down the uposing tech long enough for him to gather information on the inventor behind it.

A young princess had been the furthest thing from his mind. The Kingdom of Dryl had gotten his attention before, their engineering resources were unparalleled. Had he thought for a moment their scientific discoveries would have incorporated magic he would have attacked them with enough force to set them back to the stone age. It was all too late for that now though. Every report from the battlefield had the inventions of Dryl gaining the upper hand. No matter the modifications he made Princess Entrapta’s work was always a step ahead.

The idea of an assassination attempt had crossed his mind. Ending the opposition’s access to powerful weapons would allow him to return to using his troops to gain resources. But maps of Dryl and the crptocastle were impossible to come across and sending any of his men in blind would risk them being caught and place a target on the Fright Zone. So far Dryl had not engaged in open combat, merely sold their weapons as a defensive means.

Not too long after their game of cat and mouse had begun it ended. Hordak’s other more personal projects were more important than petty squabbles in the mud. He kept tabs on the inventions Dryl produced, even going as far as to have some of the damaged cannons brought back to Horde Castle so he could study them. It had been a stalemate for years, both sides testing the other and upgrading their technology in response.

He estimated it would take another decade before the princess would be able to cobble together enough ancient tech to develop a new weapon worth his attention. He would never get to test that theory out though. The mythical warrior SheRa had appeared. She seemed to have the single purpose of ruining his plans. He rerouted supplies and materials to his Force Captains and yet she still thwarted them on the field. The witches across the kingdom’s rallied under her and with their combined forces they were a particularly sharp thorn in his side.

The thought of diverting any more of his energy to Etheria’s problems grated him. The weapons of Dryl, the sword of power, and the witch alliance all focused on the Fright Zone was enough to make him reevaluate his battle plans. He had been prepared to weaponize his areocopters, an unfortunate turn of events that would result in massive loss of organic resources.

He had been in the middle of designing the new anti-magic missiles when the doors to the throne room opened. He looked down the length of the room and glared at the approaching trio. If this was another report on low resources he would strip them of their office and send them out to the village!  
“Force Captains. What is the meaning of this intrusion?”

The magicat Force Captain stopped at the base of the stairs and took a small step forward to speak. “Lork Hordak. Allow me to introduce Princess Entrapta.” She bowed and held out a hand to present the woman. “She develops weapons, and wants to develop weapons for the Horde.”

Hordak looked down at the woman standing between the Force Captains. She was small, maybe even too young to be the princess he was expecting. Was this some sort of ploy?

“I want to study the ancient tech you have here at the castle! It's unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” Entrapta pleaded.

He stood up from his throne and walked down the steps, taking his time so that he might get a better look at her. He had sent Witch Hunters to Dryl before, the reports on the princess all had one thing in common. Her hair was twice the length of her height. As he got closer he indeed noticed her hair. It was loosely pinned into buns and trailed down to the carpet. Her skin was olive and her eyes were red. Most interestingly, he was wearing a thin purple dress that was torn and stained. Not how he imagined her at all.

“Princess Entrapta.” He said, “The inventor from the Kingdom of Dryl.” He bent down and reached forward, taking her hand in his large clawed one. He bowed, smirking as he brought her gloved hand up to his lips, showing a glint of red fangs. “It will be an honor to have you here.”

If she was here, then her Kingdom was not producing weapons. Her weapons were not upgraded. Above all, the witches were without their trump card.  
The princess stared back at him with wide, fearless eyes.“Thank you”

He let her hand go and stood back up to his full height. “Now, to what do I owe the honor of your presence in the Fright Zone?”

The magicat tried to speak. “She-”

“Catra and Scorpia brought me! I’ve already modified several of the antimagic rifles they use to better focus the power crystal and decrease the drain speed between each blast.”

“Is that so?” Hordak turned to look down at Catra.

“Yes. Yes Sir!” Catra held out the grenade in the palm of her hand. “And she was able to make this antimagic pulse grenade. She just, that is- I’ve been bringing her the weapons I check out of the hall to work on. She hasn’t been given full access to our resources yet.”

“We will have to remedy this quickly. I have long since wondered about the mind behind the rest of Etheria’s technology. We shall make sure you are put to use here.” If she could do this with scraps he wanted to see what she could do with real materials. He had been matching her work on the field and now she was here.

Entrapta squealed excitedly. “I want to know how you make synthetic crystals! Their power is more stable then the natural ones found in Etheria, and the Horde’s synthetic manufacturing is light years ahead of my own abilities. With such large crystals I could power all sorts of things! My cannon bots could have longer transmitters, or they could even be programmed to self repair minor damage! I could-”

“Focus” Scorpia coughed into one of her claws.

Entrapta nodded, closing her mouth but still nearly vibrating with excitement.

Hordak tilted his head, one long ear twitching. Curious, she didn’t seem to be worried about being in the Fright Zone. Instead, he supposed, she was as excited as he would be to see her lab. “The synthetic crystals are all well and good but the runestone is far more powerful when it comes to energy.”  
Entrapta froze, her eyes widening. “...I’ve never drained power from a runestone before…” She whispered. “IWANTTOTOUCHIT!”  
Catra whined, hiding her eyes behind her hand.

“Force Captains. Take the Princess to the Black Garnet chamber. She is to have free reign there.”

Scorpia looked over at Catra in surprise. “Yes sir.” She put one hand on the small woman’s back to make sure she didn’t get distracted by anything else and directed her toward the way they had entered.

“Come on Emily!” Entrapta called. The bot that had been hiding in the shadows gave a beep and whorled by, quickly catching up with the three women as they left.

Hordak watched as the bot raced by. All of the things she could invent, and she had already modified the core processor of an automation and placed it in a more mobile casing. How intriguing. He raised one of his arms to the ceiling and a screech echoed out from above. “Imp, I have a job for you.”

A small winged creature flew down and landed on his outstretched arm. It was covered in gray blue fur, with large bat ears and an upturned leaf like nose. It’s large eyes glowed yellow as it purred and rubbed along it’s master’s chest.

Hordak scratched behind Imp’s ear. “Princess Entrapta is an invaluable resource. Do not let anything happen to her. Follow them and make sure my orders are carried out.”

Imp screeched again, tilting his head back to get his chin scratched.

“Go, now!” Hordak released the creature and it hissed in protest but flew off.

The vampire returned to his throne, the plans for a weaponized aerocopter forgotten. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand. What a fortuitous turn of events. Princess Entrapta in the Fright Zone, working to upgrade his weapons. He wondered for a moment what would have driven her to come here, but that didn’t matter now. With her focus turned to the Fright Zone’s weapons, he was free to work on his own project and leave this miserable planet once and for all.


	8. Seeing Through Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapdak fluff? Plot? Both? Both's good.

Entrapta woke up with a painful pounding in her head. She moaned, slowly blinking her eyes open. The last thing she remembered was the monitor going red with alerts, then an explosion. She assumed from the pain radiating from her back that she had been thrown from the force and hit something. It wouldn’t be the first time an experiment ended with a bang. She reached up to touch the recorder she kept hooked on her ear but it was gone, so were her gloves, goggles and shoes! She quickly looked around but didn’t spot them before her attention was drawn to the room around her.

She was laying on a velvet sofa in front of a massive fireplace. The mantel was carved out of stone and looked like two massive bats fighting in midair, decorative swirls of wind carried detailed leaves around them up to a huge mirror above that was meant to be the full moon. The heat from the fire would have been unbearable except for the icy chill that crept in from the shadows. The floor was a beautiful black and white checkered marble and there were several other pieces of velvet cushioned furniture arranged around the fireplace and a table off to the side. She carefully sat up and when her head didn’t swim she got to her feet. The cool floor was preferable to the tufted fabric that made her feel like she was touching a live wire. She rubbed her hands on her dress before weaving her fingers through her hair to keep them occupied.

Beyond the fire light to her right she could see shelves and shelves of books and walls lined with tapestries, to the left was an archway to a huge balcony. The curtains bellowed with wind, making the flames in the fireplace dance wildly and sending long shadows into the book filled room. The high ceilings above were covered in stained glass windows like the one she had seen in the throne room. “If there are windows on the ceiling then this must be the top of the castle…” She said to herself. Looking around she didn’t see Emily or Scorpia and Catra. How she had gotten here was just as much a mystery as where she was.

The books were tempting, but without her gloves she didn’t want to touch the paper. From where she stood she could barely make out the titles on the spines. The light from the fire illuminated the shelves around her, and she could make out small lights along the walls further in before more shelves blocked her view. “Judging from the continued stained glass windows over head I would say this room continues on nearly triple the length I can see. It must be a library of some sort. I haven’t encountered a room this large anywhere else in the castle. I wonder why I was brought here?” She turned, touching her side gingerly. “I haven’t suffered any broken bones and it doesn’t feel like I’ve torn any muscle tissue. I will have to wait to get a closer look to see how bad the bruising is.”

She carefully stepped around the sofa and got as close to the balcony as she could before the cold floor became uncomfortable to her bare feet. She peeked around the curtain and saw the balcony stretched nearly twenty feet in diameter with a stone railing around the edge. She could see clouds beyond that but nothing of the rest of the castle. “I must be on one of the towers. How is it kept stable in the winds? I wonder if they’ve integrated the same anti magic generators that I found at the witch’s ball to keep the winds under control. From what I could see from my arrival in the aerocopter and my research on the different levels of the castle, the highest tower was roughly seventy five stories or three hundred meters from the base of the castle. I can’t get an accurate reading on the wind speeds due to the unnatural cloud cover over the Fright Zone though.”

She shivered from the cold and walked back to the fire to warm up. Her dress was officially done, this last explosion finally too much for it. She hadn’t gotten a change of clothes since before she came to the Fright Zone. The dress had been designed for a party, not kidnapping. It was torn and stained beyond what washing it could fix and without her gloves and shoes she was feeling exposed. Looking around again for her belongings she spotted a book resting on the table by the sofa. She used the tip of a finger to move it closer to the light and gasped. “This is printed in the language of the Ancients!” She looked up at the shelves again and tried to get a better look at the titles. “There are even more of them here! I’ve never seen the language written on paper before!”

***

After making sure Entrapta’s injuries were not fatal, Hordak had brought her to the Northern Library. He didn’t know what rooms were hers in the castle, and he didn’t trust the Force Captains to get her there in one piece. After Imp had alerted him that the experiment on the Black Garnet was going awry he had personally gone to make sure there was no threat to the Fright Zone’s powersource. He had not been expecting to find the magicat with an unconscious Shadow Weaver going on about some sort of sabotage. Apparently he had underestimated the witch’s ambitions. Even more surprising was finding the chamber in complete disarray and the princess injured.

He had removed the oversized gloves and goggles and then begrudgingly slipped her ruined shoes off. They were caked with antimagic pollution from some part of the castle and he wondered just how long it would have taken for them to corrupt and fall apart. Her dress he left on for modesty, but in truth he would have sooner burned it then try to have it washed. She was filthy, though he wasn’t sure if it was her natural state or if it had anything to do with the explosion. Etherians were confusing creatures, even the intelligent ones, perhaps those more so.

The last thing he had removed was a small device he found hooked over one of her ears. It had no sort of output capabilities he could ascertain, which limited its purpose to input. He had taken it further into the library to study. After taking it apart he found a small synthetic crystal inside, but unlike the one’s manufactured in the Fright Zone this one had a magic sigil etched into it. He had seen etchings similar in the war machines produced in Dryl, but none so small and detailed. Whatever power the crystal had was gone though, without access to its recharging station this recording device was useless.

He was putting it back together when Imp landed heavily on his shoulders, rubbing like a cat along the back of his head. Hordak reached up and scratched the creature’s chin. “Bored with our guest already?” He murmured, most of his attention on the small device as he carefully set everything just right and closed it up.

The creature opened its mouth to mimic what it had heard. “-The verb usage here seems to suggest a more narrative view of the information. I’ve only ever translated this language from-”

Hordak jerked un surprise, nearly causing Imp to lose his footing. “She’s awake!? I told you to inform me at once.” He batted Imp from his shoulder and stood up, leaving the recorder on the desk. “You left the leading Etherian scientist alone in a room filled with Ancient knowledge-”

Imp hissed. “You left the leading Etherian scientist alone in a room filled with Ancient knowledge.” He repeated, glaring at his master as he flapped his wings to remain hovering at eye height with Hordak.

The vampire’s ears flicked back for a second. “...Touche.” He looked down at the device, wondering for a moment if he should return it. It was still a mystery to him. He didn’t understand what use it would be with no crystal to power it. Perhaps it was wiser to get a better understanding of its purpose before he united them. “Come along. If the Black Garnet Chamber is any indication then I fear for the books we left unguarded.”

***

Entrapta was sitting on the floor with the book open in front of her. “I believe that this is a journal or a work of fiction. I’ve never seen the past tense of the language but the phrasing is similar to recorded logs I have found in other languages.” She knew her recorder was gone, and Emily wasn’t here to talk to, but she always found it easier to organize her thoughts when she said them out loud. “The last recorded living Ancient died roughly two thousand years ago. While their language wouldn’t have immediately disappeared with them, finding it written on paper is-” She frowned as the light from the fire dimmed and she found it hard to make out the symbols on the paper. “Excuse me, you’re blocking my light. If you could just step aside…” She said, gently turning a page with the tip of her finger and thumb.

Hordak raised one brow curiously. “You can read Ancient writing?”

Entrapta suddenly remembered where she was, or rather, that she had no idea where she was and pulled her attention from the book. “Hordak!”

He frowned, ears pinning back. Imp snickered from his place next to his master’s feet. “Hordak!” He repeated in her voice.

She gasped. “Ooooh, you’re so cute!”

Imp perked up, his hindquarters wiggling in preparation to jump over to her.

Hordak cleared his throat, glaring down at the little creature.“Cute is subjective. He’s spoiled.” Imp whined and plopped down.

Entrapta giggled. “Well that’s your indiscretion.” She looked up at the vampire. “Did you bring me here? Where is here by the way? Why didn’t you take me to the infirmary? Is there an infirmary? Who’s this? Why do you have- oh. Focus.” She said out loud, remembering Catra and Scorpia’s warning about that.

Hordak sighed, bending down to scoop Imp up into his arms. “I did bring you here. The infirmary is better suited to handle my wounded soldiers than one princess who bumped her head.” He saw her head duck down, a common sign of sorrow in Etherians, and he mentally cursed himself. She was not one of his Force Captains to belittle. “You are an invaluable resource. I made sure your wounds did not require medical attention before I brought you here. I had work to do, and I do not know which rooms are yours. I would have-”

“I don’t have any rooms.”

“What?”

Entrapta stood up and brushed out her ruined dress. “I don’t have any rooms. Or extra clothes… or any of my tools. Catra and Scorpia kidnapped me thinking I was a witch. I don’t think they really planned on me staying here this long. I’ve been staying in Scorpia’s stateroom though. I can go back there. I should probably check on Emily too, her casing isn’t very sturdy, if the explosion knocked me out then she must have gotten hit…”

Hordak’s eye and ear twitched. She hadn’t been given a room!? Or access to basic uniforms!? He was going to send those two incompetent fools to Beast Island the next time they had the misfortune of crossing his path. “You will be supplied with fresh clothing and your own private rooms at once.” He said, cutting her off mid thought.

She blinked in surprise, her train of thought completely derailed. “That would be great! The clothes, I mean, I don’t really need a room. Unless it has a tub, I would gladly take a room with a tub!” She twisted her hands together. “Um, and if I could have my gloves and shoes back? It’s just, I get distracted when I don’t have my gloves on. Everything feels loud.”

He glanced down at her hands, they were the cleanest part of her. Obviously the gloves were important to protect her while she worked. “Feels...Loud?”

Entrapta never cared what anyone else thought of her. Her strange ideas and inventions were the main reason anyone spoke with her. She knew she seemed weird to the other princesses. They thought she talked too much, or had strange food preferences, didn’t understand social cues or even most jokes. None of that mattered to Entrapta, because in the end she was able to do what she loved and was happy, but suddenly she was standing in Horde Castle. Face to face with Lord Hordak himself who was possibly the smartest engineer on Etheria. She had marveled at his inventions her whole life, based her life’s work off of glimpses of his creations. “I get overwhelmed.” She nervously started to fiddle with her hair, thinking about not touching anything only made it worse!

His eyes widened slightly. “Ah, your tactile senses become over stimulated. I did not account for this. My apologies, but I disposed of your gloves and shoes once I brought you here. I believed the gloves to be useless, they were oversized and damaged. Your shoes were contaminated from antimagic and that can not simply be washed away.”

She frowned. “Oh, that’s ok. For now. I’m sure I’ll be fine when I get a new pair.”

“You are… smaller than most of my witch hunters. Wait here a moment.” He didn’t give her a chance to argue as he had disappeared from the direction he had come. His long legs carried him into the shadows before she could ask him what he was going to do.

No shoes or gloves made her nervous. She looked down at the book she had left open and carefully lifted it by the corner and returned it to the table. She reached for her recorder and sighed as she remembered it was gone too. She looked back at the sofa and blushed, suddenly realizing that he must have carried her here. He had brought her here and slipped off her gloves and shoes… She looked down and wiggled her toes that had chipped purple paint and felt like balling up and dying of embarrassment.

The sound of swift footfalls got her attention and she straightened up, detangling her fingers from her hair. He returned holding a metal object in each hand, Imp flying behind him and trying to peek over his shoulder. “This should do as a replacement as gloves and shoes for the time being.” He knelt down on one knee before her and she was surprised he still came to her full height like this. He held out his hands. The devices mirrored each other in design, an inch thick with interlocking layers at the end so they could be connected into some kind of circle. He reached for one of her arms and she pulled back.

He looked up at her and at this distance it was the first time she noticed his hair was longer then she had originally thought and was dark blue, not black. The black skin around his eyes made his eyes seem brighter and his ears moved subtly as he stared at her. She wanted to study everything about him! “I won’t touch you.” He assured, gently holding the two halves of the device out. “Hold out your arm.”

She raised her arm and he closed the circle just above her elbow. The metal didn’t touch her as it locked together. A small strip of lights flicked on and glowed down on her skin. Hordak slowly slipped it down her arm and the light weaved a pattern that stayed on her skin all the way down to her finger tips. He pulled the two sides apart once her arm was free. She watched as the light faded into her skin until it was barely visible. It felt warm but that was all. “What is this?”

“Refracting lace.” He held out one of his own hands, the gray skin shimmered with the same pattern when she looked close enough. “Cold, heat, germ and tear resistant. They hold an eight hour charge and can be slipped off if you pull from where they started. I invented it to replace the gloves I once used. I needed to be more dexterous than what they could offer when it came to smaller mechanisms. That and my claws were destroying gloves faster then I could repair them.”

Entrapta held up her own hand and turned it around. The light was almost invisible. She looked at the sofa again and reached out, gently rubbing one finger along the fabric. Her eyes widened and she took a handful of the velvet. “This is amazing! I can still feel the weight and texture but the small individual fibers are numbed. I’ve never seen anything like this, how are you able to shape light? How does it stay in place? What happens to it if you pull it off before the charge runs out?” A deep purr of sound grabbed her attention and she realized he was laughing.

“I will give you my notes on them if you would like.” He offered, a glint of his red teeth poking out from his smile.

She nodded excitedly and held out her other arm to him. “Yes!”

As he repeated the process she watched closely, trying to decipher the inner workings. When he had gloved both of her arms he directed her to take a seat on the sofa again. “I apologize for the hospitality you have received so far. How is it that the Princess of Dryl has found herself making weapons here? You said you were kidnapped, but that does not explain why you are… assisting.”

Entrapta grinned. “I admit the kidnapping wasn’t planned, but the use of ancient tech in the Horde has always fascinated me! I would have never had the chance to study any of this if I hadn’t been brought here. I want to know how it all works. I’ve invented so many things, but I know there’s more knowledge out there. The possibilities are endless!”

He smirked. “It is refreshing to hear such things. Magic is the currency of the realm here, most Etherians I met care little for science.”

“Magic is limiting.” She countered. “If you are not a witch, you can not wield it, there’s no room there for improvement in a society that doesn’t think it needs it-'' She blushed again as she realized why he asked her to take a seat. He reached down and closed the metal around her calf, slipping the ring down her leg and covering her with the refracting lace. She looked around, hoping to find something that would grab her attention so she could focus on anything other than the vampire kneeling over her. He was so close. She wanted to study the edges of where his skin changed color, and the movement of his ears. Most people told her she didn’t know what personal space was and that people wanted distance so she kept her hands firmly at her sides.

“There, these should work for you until you are able to get a new pair of shoes and gloves that fit.” Hordak slipped the devices into his pocket and looked back up at the princess but she was looking off toward the books with a strange look on her face. Had he said something? It had been a very long time since he had tried to hold a conversation with anyone outside of his command. “Princess-”

“Just Entrapta.” She looked at him then.

“Very well, Entrapta. Do you require anything else while I have an automaton prepare a room for you?”

He watched as her red eyes seemed to light up. “Emily!”

“What is an Emily?” He stood up.

“Emily is my friend! I made her from spare automaton parts I found here in the Fright Zone.”

“Ah yes, that bot with the sphere casing. I shall have her parts brought up.”

“Parts?!”

“She was hit in the explosion. I am sure it is nothing you can not repair with access to one of my research labs.”

Entrapta wanted to make sure her friend was alright. She had saved her life, and if she had been that damaged from the explosion it was probably from shielding her. “I double shielded her processor, as long as the connection to the power source was not cut off then her memory should still be intact. I can build her a new casing and duplicate the refracting lace to give her an added shield! I can set it to a recharge timer so it will be able to block more damage- Oh! I can change the algorithm to make it absorb incoming force and then redirect it into a focused beam!”

Hordak stared at her with wide eyes. It had never occurred to him to weaponize his gloves before. Imp was at his side, head twisted in confusion as the woman went on and on with her ideas. The small creature slowly walked closer until he was close enough to rub along her leg.

Entrapta jumped in surprise as something warm and furry moved along her leg. She looked down to find Imp there, his leather wings folding along his back and his long twitching behind him. She smiled and reached down to pet him. He purred as he curled into her hand and then jumped up into her lap.

“Imp!” Hordak snapped.

She laughed. “You weren’t joking when you said he was spoiled.” She dug her fingers into his fur to scratch along his back and under his chin. With the refracting lace his fur was still soft and warm but not over stimulating. Imp chirped happily and rolled over to get his belly rubbed.

“I forgot to mention shameless.” Hordak muttered.

“Shameless” Imp mimicked.

She looked up at the vampire lord. “What is he? I’ve never seen anything like him.”

Hordak watched as Imp purred and chirped happily. “He is a hybrid, created from many healthy creatures.” He saw the same excitement as before overcome her.

“REALLY?! I thought gene splicing was theoretical. It’s incredibly complicated. How old is he? Has he reached maturity? Will he get bigger? What’s his expected life expectancy? What about his mimic ability? Is that from a creature as well? How much can he mimic? How often? Can he piece together words to form sentences? How long does he keep the sound stored?”

“You… know about gene splicing?” Hordak was starting to think either the princess was more then she seemed or that he had been underestimating Dryl’s resources.

“Oh I’ve only read about it. There are records about it in the Ancient language but I’m not fluent enough in it to replicate any of those experiments.”

He glanced at the book on the table next to her. “I had almost forgotten.” Reaching down he picked the book up and then took a seat next to her. “You were reading this when I came in.” He opened the front cover and ran his hand over the first page. “I don’t normally leave books out, they’re too valuable not to return to the shelves. This one is a record of the Bernhard family.” He stiffened as she was suddenly against his side, looking over the book.

“You can read it?”

“I can.”

“How many other books do you have in this language?”

He looked around. “This is the Northern library. It is strictly dedicated to the Ancients.”

She gasped and Imp squeaked in alarm as she squeezed him tightly. “I never knew there were any books that remained from that time, let alone a whole library! How do you keep them all in such good condition? How do you have so many? Where did they come from?”

He laughed again, the low sound curling around her. “Allow me to keep some secrets Entrapta.”

She sighed, looking back at the shelves. There was so much to learn, so close. She reached up to tap her recorder and stopped. She turned back to him. “My recorder! Did you find it when you brought me up here?”

The fast change of topic left him reeling for a moment. “Your recorder?”

“Yes! It’s of my own design. I never take it off. I record all of my notes with it. I had it with me before the explosion. It’s small, diamond shaped, slips over my ear.” She pointed at her head. “I haven’t been able to charge in since I got here, but it’s one of a kind and it took a lot of prototypes to get to this version.”

“I have it on my desk, the design was intriguing. The etching that you have on the crystal, how does it work?”

She blushed. He thought her design was intriguing? “The etching is based off of a spell I found. I took the basic components of it and infused it into the crystal. It matches the etching I have in my lab in Dryl and everything recorded is immediately transferred there to be storied and cataloged.”

“Wireless transference through magic?”

“Based on magic.” She corrected. “I have been testing the breaking down of spells to infuse weapons, but I much prefer the chance to put them into everyday useful items. My recorder has no range limit or data size limit. It simply transfers the recordings it has every twenty four hours and becomes blank again. A personal design I added to the spell in case I lost it and someone else found it.”

The only notes Hordak kept were written in a language he was sure no one else knew how to read. Well… maybe one other person now. “There are no range limits? How do you account for that amount of power needed? You were easily able to boost the power of the Black Garnet, but I know of no runestone in Dryl.”

“Oh I-” Entrapta suddenly jumped up from his side, Imp still tightly in her arms. The creature gave a pathetic grunt but didn’t struggle to get away as she continued to scratch behind an ear. “The Black Garnet! The experiment! I forgot all about it. I was able to control its output and maintain it before something interrupted by signal to it. I need to go over the readings and study the lasting effects it had on the borders of the Fright Zone.”

Hordak frowned. “It nearly killed you. Shadow Weaver nearly killed you.”

“She did?”

“It was one of her spells that caused the machine to explode.”

“Ohhh, but still- all of that data I collected, it’ll help to create a more structured permanent increase in the output!”

“The machine was destroyed, there is no data.” He growled, reminded that due to Shadow Weaver’s interference the experiment had been a complete waste.

“Of course there is! I transferred it to Dryl.” Entrapta grinned widely, bouncing on her feet. “I told you, the etching has no limit on distance. I made sure that I copied it correctly before the explosion. All of the data is waiting for me in my lab!” She spun around, which did finally cause Imp to struggle free.

“In your lab in Dryl?” Hordak leaned back, his chin in his hand as he thought. “I suppose we should retrieve it then.”

***

Scorpia had done her best to clean up the Black Garnet chamber. She didn’t understand any of the science stuff Entrapta used, or the magic that Shadow Weaver wielded. What she did know was that her friend had been hurt and still hadn’t been heard from. After sweeping up the metal shavings, righting the table, reconnecting the wires and cables, things were starting to look better. It was little consolation after the explosion though. She had no idea how to fix Emily either and in the end had to watch as automatons carried her out on a cart in pieces.

What if Entrapta was really hurt, or if the Black Garnet was damaged. All of those monsters she had seen on the map were worrisome too, but no scouts had been sent out to see if they were still there. Lord Hordak hadn’t reappeared, and Shadow Weaver was still locked away. The only person who didn’t seem upset about any of this was Catra.

The magicat hadn’t helped with the clean up, but that wasn’t surprising. She stood leaning against the wall with her tail twitching back and forth. She detested this room. It still felt like it belonged to Shadow Weaver, even with the blinking string lights. Just a week ago Adora had stood in the very same room and stole the sword of power away. Now, everything seemed surreal.

There was no more Shadow Weaver, not really. There was no more hunt for Adora. She was the Force Captain that had brought the Princess of Dryl to the Fright Zone. It hadn’t escaped her attention when Hordak had carried her away. He could have ordered Scorpia to bring her to an infirmary, or had a bot drag her there. No, he knew the princess when she had introduced them… she just needed to know how.

She pushed off from the wall and turned to leave.

“Wildcat?” Scorpia called, looking after her.

“I think we’re done here.” Catra called back over her shoulder. “Until we get another assignment, I need to go talk to Shadow Weaver.”

“Want me to-” The door closed. “I guess not.” The clawed Force Captain sighed and continued typing up her report to Lord Hordak.

The holding cells of Hord Castle were not pleasant. They were at the base of the structure close to the magma pits. The air was sweltering and the stone walls and floors were uncomfortably hot to touch. Shadow Weaver was sitting on a wooden bench attached to one of the walls. Her mask was cracked from where Catra had kicked her and her long hair hung limply around her. The porcelain face turned and followed the witch hunter as she paced on the other side of the bars. “What do you want?”

Catra smiled, looking over the woman. It felt good to see her locked up. It made her feel powerful to see the woman who had terrorized her youth behind bars. “I don’t want anything. I just came to see this.” She gestured around. “I’ve never been down here, and it’s just as horrible as I imagined.”

“If you’re here to gloat. It will be short lived.” Shadow Weaver hissed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Whatever you were trying to do failed. Entrapta’s still alive. She’s not done with the Black Garnet either. I have a feeling that little experiment was only the beginning-

Shadow Weaver rose up and walked to the bars. She stood across from the younger woman. “You’re a fool. Princess Entrapta is no witch. The rune stone is an embodiment of pure magic. She can not use it. She will only ruin it, and in the end the Fright Zone will have nothing! That girl is only a distraction.”

“A distraction?” Catra scoffed. “Hardly.”

“Not for you, for Lord Hordak. The longer she stays here, the less focus he will have on what really matters. I kept us on task. How many witch hunts have there been? How long has it been since you had a mission? You will find, much like I have, if you do not take charge you will become obsolete.” She hissed.

Catra’s ears lowered. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it? You’ve only given him a new toy. One that has distracted him from the conquest of Etheria.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about! The Fright Zone expanded everywhere because of her experiment!”

“And with no troops out on the field, how long will it stay that way?”

Catra’s tail twitched. This had been a mistake. She shouldn’t have come here.

“We’ll be sending troops out soon.”

“Is that so? Is that what he has ordered?” Shadow Weaver bent down behind the bars to be at eye level with the magicat. “Be watchful. Or the next orders you receive will be the first in many to come that separate you from that front line you fought so hard to get to.”

Catra growled and swirled around, storming out of the room.

It wasn’t until the next morning that an automaton knocked on her door and told her to report to the throne room. Shadow Weaver’s words were pushed to the back of her mind as she got dressed. She didn’t have the energy to deal with the implications she had made. She found Scorpia waiting for her at the throne room doors. The taller woman looked like her mind was just as full. “Hey.”

Scorpia jumped and looked back over her shoulder and flashed a smile. “Wildcat! I finished the report Lord Hordak asked for and sent it last night. I guess he finished reading it. I hope Entrapta’s alright, she never came back to my room. Or Emily, she didn’t looks so good.”

“Emily is a bucket of bolts and wires.” Catra reminded as the doors opened.

“I know… still worried about her.”

“It”

Scorpia pouted but stopped talking as they walked down the long carpet.

The top of the stairs wasn’t swallowed by darkness this time. The red glaring light from the stained glass window was dulled and the vampire lord was seated on his throne. Entrapta was sitting on the large arm rest.

She grinned down at them and waved. “Hi guys!” She had taken a bath and brushed her long purple hair out until it shined. It was tied up in twin tails on her head and she was dressed in the smallest witch hunter uniform the Fright Zone had. Her hands and feet were bare but she didn’t seem to care as she kicked her legs back and forth.

Carta felt like ice water had been dumped down her back. She had never seen anyone that close to the vampire who lived to talk about it.

Scorpia immediately perked up. “Entrapta! You’re alright!”

“Of course I am. Thanks for collecting Emily’s parts. I have her mostly fixed up now. She’s gonna be better than ever with her upgrades.” Entrapta beamed.

“Force Captains.” Hordak said, the same deep no nonsense tone they had always known. They instinctively clicked their heels together and stood straighter. “I have a new assignment for you booth.”

Entrapta laughed, clapping her hands. “We’re going to Dryl!”


	9. The Kingdom of Dryl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora, Glimmer and Bow find out that the Kingdom of Dryl has fallen to the Horde.

“I know that the events that took place last month have us all on edge,” Queen Angella said as she looked over the troops of Monster Slayers that were standing at attention in the castle courtyard. “The unprecedented increase in monster sightings and the sudden death of parts of the Whispering Woods was troubling for all of us. I commend each and everyone of you for your dedication to the Kingdom of Brightmoon. It is because of you that our borders are secure and no monsters have attacked our citizens. The relief efforts to help Puleria with their food shortage have brought our kingdoms closer together. I am proud to be your Queen.”

Glimmer looked out at the Monster Slayers from behind her mother. She spotted Bow and Adora in the farthest back corner, standing shoulder to shoulder with the other hunters. Bow gave her a small smile when he noticed her peeking out. He had been on patrol nonstop for the last week and Adora the week before that. Brightmoon had sent out the Monster Slayers in force to protect its people and they were all growing tired.

The monsters they had seen at the edge of the Whispering Woods had slowly traveled farther away from the kingdom and fought amongst themselves in bloody massacres that the Monster Slayers were no match for. Finally the last monster disappeared from sight two days ago. It was a blessing. The dead areas of land that had spontaneously destroyed parts of the Wood showed no signs of regrowth. It was a mystery the witches were trying to solve, but so far Mystacor had no answers for them.

Queen Angella had been livid to find out that her daughter had left the castle during the increase of monsters, but it was Glimmer’s report that made the Queen order the extra patrols. Whatever had caused it, she wanted to be sure it did not happen again and catch them off guard.

“-Glimmer?”

The young witch jumped. Her mind had wondered while her mother finished up her speech. “Yes Mom?”

“Gather your friends and meet me in the meeting hall would you?”

“Uh- Yes! Of course!” Her mother had forbidden her from all of the war meetings since she had snuck out, so she wasn’t going to let this chance pass her up. Glimmer disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared next to her friends.

Adora jerked in surprise, her hand going to the halt of her sword for a split second before she realized it was Glimmer. “I will never get used to that.”

Bow chuckled. “You’d be surprised how quickly you get used to magic when you’re around it often enough.” He threw an arm around the princess’s shoulders and grinned. “Best Friend Squad! Back together at last! Are you ungrounded?”

“I think so? Mom said to get you two and meet her in the meeting room.”

“Really?” Adora looked back over at the balcony the queen had just been standing at. “I thought for sure she wouldn’t want us near the meeting room again.”

“Adora, I snuck out of the castle, that’s not really punishable by death.” Glimmer laughed. “Mom was just really busy with this monster thing… I didn’t want to push her buttons while it was happening. I guess she’s ready to get back to work. You’re SheRa after all. You and Bow are top Monster Slayers, it was only a matter of time before you were called back in.” She looked between her friends. They had both been so busy it felt like forever since she had gotten to see them. “You didn’t hear anything bad while you were out on patrol did you?”

Bow sighed. “The Whispering Woods are agitated, I’ve heard about a few paths and roads causing travelers to get lost, but nothing serious.”

“Let’s not keep your mom waiting.”

“Right. It's probably really important.” Glimmer took Adora’s hand and they teleported to the meeting hall.

“Ahhhhheee-I would really like more warning!” Adora yelped as they reappeared. She shivered for a second as the magic wore off, Glimmer’s hand still tightly in hers.

“Sorry. I’m used to teleporting Bow and he’s-”

“Used to it.” Adora chuckled nervously as she pulled her hand away.

“Yep, best way to travel!” Bow teased.

“Um hm.”

The three of them jumped, forgetting for a moment that they were there to see the queen. Bow took his arm from Glimmer’s shoulder and bowed to the queen, Adora scrambled to follow suit.

“Oh come on, stop that.” Glimmer covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. Adora lived at the castle and Bow practically lived there. They didn’t need to be so formal when no one else was around.

Angella smiled. “Thank you both for coming. I know you’ve been out on patrol. It means alot to have two of my best Monster Slayers out there.”

They glanced at each other and slowly stood up. “Of course. Brightmoon is our home. We want to do everything we can to help.” Bow took a seat at the table, followed by the two women.

Glimmer looked around at the room. It was empty except for them and the two guards at the door. She looked back to her mom. “Why do I have the feeling that there’s something that you didn’t mention during your speech?”

“While I was completely honest about the state of the Woods and the monsters, I did leave something out.” The queen admitted.

“The Horde.” Adora said quietly. She had been busy, but her mind always drifted back to what was happening in the Fright Zone. “Do we know if what happened was caused by them?”

“The witches at Mystacor have been trying to find that out but they have not reported back to me with news of the cause. I’m sorry.”

“Then… What else is happening?” Glimmer asked, suddenly worried about the other kingdoms. The witch alliance might have been disbanded, but that hadn’t been her choice and she was still worried about them.

“The latest patrol just came back and reported that the Horde is making a move with its troops.”

Adora jumped to her feet. “Troop movement means that they are after a large amount of land. Lord Hordak only uses his troops if he wants to secure a location. Are they taking advantage of the dead areas of the Whispering Woods?!”

Glimmer paled. If the Horde set up an outpost that close to Brightmoon they would be in real danger. “We need to do something! Send out a battalion or something!”

“Glimmer.” Angella said calmly, trying to get her daughter’s attention. “They are not moving in on the Whispering Woods. The troops were seen heading toward the Kingdom of Dryl.”

Bow felt the wind knocked out of him. Dryl had been Entrapta’s kingdom. He blinked slowly, trying to understand.

“Dryl?” Adora looked at Glimmer in confusion. She only barely remembered the name.

“They produce the tech the rebellion uses.” Glimmer said quietly. “If The Horde reaches Dryl and sets up a permanent strong hold… I don’t know what that would mean for us.”

“Princess Entrapta developed all of the science we use.” Bow said in a hollow tone. “She invented the motors in the autohorses, the shields we use against the anti magic weapons, the synthetic crystals that we use to store recordings in… all of it. First they kidnapped her and now they’re adding insult to injury by attacking her kingdom while it’s defenseless!” He stood up and looked at the Queen. “We can’t let them take it!”

“It is imperative to the rebellion that we do not let Dryl fall to The Horde. Since Princess Entrapta’s death there has been no newly appointed ruler. Our treaties and deals are only barely keeping our tradelines intact. We must show Dryl that we will protect them and support whoever they crown. I want the three of you to go to Dryl. It’s dangerous, but I believe that if you can get there and rally Dryl’s forces together, they will hold off the incoming troops long enough for Brightmoon forces to arrive.”

“Why not send an army now?” Adora asked. “Stop the troops before they get there?”

Glimmer sighed. “It’s political Adora. Whoever the new ruler will be, we need them on our side. We can’t show up with an army, they might see it as a threat to try and take the kingdom.”

Bow shook his head. He knew Dryl would need a new leader… but he couldn’t imagine anyone but Entrapta there. She had ruled the kingdom for twenty years, ever since inheriting it at the young age of seven after her parents death. He had grown up with the constant of her inventions flooding the land. It fueled his own pursuit of knowledge. He wanted to believe that her kingdom would side with them against The Horde, the reason she was gone. “We should get going then. We don’t have time to lose.”

“It’ll take days to get there.” Adora said. “We’ll never arrive before The Horde.”

“I’ve thought of that. We have a teleportation circle here at the castle. It works much like Glimmer’s abilities. It has a much longer range on it and can get you there today.” Queen Angella explained. “It takes time for it to be used again so soon after the spell ends, so you will be on your own after you go.”

“Then we should get ready.” Glimmer said, standing from her chair. “We don’t have time to lose.”

Bow and Adora gave her a sharp nod and headed toward the door.

“Just a moment Glimmer, I wanted to talk to you alone.” The queen called before her daughter could go.

“We’ll meet you in your room.” Adora said with a wave as the door closed between them.

Glimmer pouted before walking over. She was scared her mother would change her mind about sending her. It was important, her friends were going and she had been stuck in the castle for a month. If she didn’t get out soon she was going to go crazy. “Yes?”

Angella gave a sad smile to her daughter. “This is going to be dangerous. I want you to be safe out there. The Horde hasn’t sent out any Witch Hunters since the Solstice. I don’t know why but I don’t think that means they wouldn’t try to take you.”

“Mom I’ll be fine-”

“Glimmer, listen to me. I am sending Adora because SheRa needs to go and protect Dryl while it is ununited. I am sending Bow because he knows more about Dryl than anyone else. I am sending you, my daughter, because I know you can keep them both safe. Do not over tax yourself. You will be far from the Moon Stone with no way to replenish your magic. I want you to bring them both back in one piece if things do not go well.”

Glimmer wasn’t used to her mother talking like this. “We won’t let Dryl fall.”

“Dryl is our main supplier of tech. If it falls, then we will find other ways to fight. Be safe and be smart.”

“I’ll bring us all back.”

***

“I’ve never been to Dryl before. Are you excited to be heading back home?” Scorpia asked, glancing over to the woman next to her. They were currently sitting on top of a Nomad as it led a line of troops and autohorses behind them.

Catra told them both to ride inside of the Nomad, but after the first day of travel she was close to pulling her fur out with every one of Entrapta’s questions about how it worked and if she could touch something and what did that button do. So she arranged for them to open up the roof which was used for cargo loading and had Scorpia bring up gunner seats for the two of them.

Entrapta had her long hair twisted into two messy buns with strains trailing down to the floor and blowing in the wind. She had a datapad in her lap that she had spent most of the trip typing into. “I miss the food!” The scientist laughed. “Grey makes these wonderful mini parfaits with fresh fruit and toasted brown sugar on top!”

“Oooh, that does sound delicious.” Scorpia clicked her claws together. “You’re the princess here. I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you. There uh… isn’t someone else who might have taken over while you were uh...out?”

“Oh no. I don’t have any consorts or heirs. The line of succession would end and the kingdom would probably dissolve if I did actually die.”

“WHAT?! I mean, don’t you have any plans to, you know?”

Entrapta unfocused on the data and looked at Scorpia’s reflection on the screen instead. She smiled and turned to look at the Witch Hunter directly. “That’s not what I meant. No one ever comes to Dryl except if they need something. There hasn’t been a major increase in the kingdom’s population for nearly fifteen years, that was when Dana joined the staff.” She pointed ahead of them at the mountain range they were crossing over. “The cryptocastle has natural defenses because of its placement. At the end of this range the castle blocks any travel from continuing into the kingdom. It’s the first line of defence. The village beyond isn’t accommodating for living. There’s no place to farm plants or herd animals, the cliffs are too dangerous to build on and I don’t have the land to train troops.”

Scorpia frowned and looked behind them at the troops that were following them. “Um, Entrapta… what’s the population of Dryl?”

“Four.”

“Thousand?”

“Four as in the number of fingers I’m holding up.” She wiggled her fingers with her thumb tucked in.

“FOUR!? But- what- I, I don’t understand! Your kingdom makes all the weapons for the rebellion. There’s got to be more people. You said village.”

“I turned the village into a fully automated factory to manufacture my bots and weapons when I was twelve. We needed a main export and didn’t have a population to support. I also started mining in the mountains for the materials needed in the manufacturing with the bots I created. The trade I started with the rebellion has supplied me with enough resources to further my research and upgrade my inventions.”

“So there’s no army? Nothing?”

“No, just my bots. I programmed them to follow protocol when I left for the Witch’s Ball. They should still be on high alert. The troops we brought from the Fright Zone were mainly to set up the strong holds along this route so that trade won’t be interrupted once we get set up."

“We always assumed it was heavily guarded.”

“Oh it is.” Entrapta grinned. “I know that my inventions can be dangerous. If the rebellion knew I had no armies, they would have tried a hostile takeover of Dryl years ago. Especially when I was younger. My security protocols are top of the line!”

“Are we there yet?” Catra muttered as she jumped up on the roof. “We’ve been traveling for days.”

“The castle will be in view as soon as we crest this ridge.” The purple haired woman assured.

The Nomad made its last turn and the cryptocastle came into view. It was built into the mountain directly with a heavy stone wall around the front with torrents lining the top. Structural supports held up a large tower in the center that was covered with electrical wires and panels. It was obviously heavily fortified, but the most eye catching thing wasn’t the castle. It was two miles past it. Twice the height. Walking.

“What on Etheria is that?!” Catra yelled, watching a huge machine as it slowly walked around the mountain.

“Oh that’s just Hub XI. He’s a mobile communication hub that I have programmed to roam through the mountain range.” Entrapta shrugged. “He’s been active for about five years, I guess I’m just used to him.”

“That’s a bot?” Scorpia tilted her head as Hub XI ignored them. It looked like some sort of animal, with long legs and a long neck and a large flat head. Ok, the flat head part didn’t look like an animal she knew.

“Oh no. He’s not that advanced. He’s pre-programmed to keep moving and to since the weather changes so he can take cover incase of a lightning storm, but otherwise he doesn’t have any sensors beyond that. If you got in his way he would step on you and not even notice.”

Catra growled to herself and rubbed her face. As if this trip couldn’t have gotten any weirder. “You have a MASSIVE machine just wondering about your kingdom?”

“Well, I need some way to keep my bots wireless communications up. If he goes down then the bots could go offline or even stop receiving their updates.”

“… Anything else we should know before we get there?”

“...like what?”

“Any other bots you have wondering around?”

“Oh! Sure!” Entrapta held up her datapad for the magicat to see. “There are plenty of my bots out here. We got within range of them nearly an hour ago. I’ve been sending a signal ahead so they let us pass.”

Catra didn’t understand any of the things she was seeing on the datapad, but she understood what she had just heard. “You have weapons on us?”

“Yeah. Dryl wouldn’t be very well defended if an enemy could get this close before I noticed.”

“Turn them off.”

“What?”

“Turn them off. I don’t want any of the troops getting attacked by your bots.”

“They won’t-”

“Entrapta.” Catra hissed. “I’m in charge of this mission. I said turn them off. You can turn them back on once we’ve gotten into the castle.”

Entrapta pouted and looked down at her datapad. She was allowing the Horde to occupy Dryl so the trade between them could start. Catra was right, she didn’t need to start things off with her bots attacking. She taped at the screen. “Done.”

“Good. Get those gates open for us.” Catra grabbed onto the ladder and stepped back to slide back into the Nomad.

Scorpia patted Entrapta’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. They’ll be back up online in no time.”

The scientist nodded. “Right. It’s probably a good idea to get them reprogrammed while I’m here so they mark the Horde forces as friendly. They’ll be loading tech into the Nomad, don’t want an accident.”

“Well now that you’re home you can handle their programming whenever we need to move a shipment right?” Scorpia asked.

Entrapta blinked in confusion and looked at the woman. “What?”

“Oh sorry, I’m not all that great with this tech mumbo jumbo. You’ll be here in Dryl when we need another shipment of weapons, you’ll make sure that your bots are offline right?”

“Oh.”

Scorpia could see the woman’s vision glaze over. She had gotten used to it though, it was something Entrapta did when she was thinking of something that took up more of her attention then whatever was in front of her. “You… are staying in Dryl right?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it. The Fright Zone has such advanced technology. Hordak is letting me study it in exchange for my weapons… I need my lab equipment here, but I didn’t bring any of the Horde Tech with us. Well except for Emily.”

“Hey don’t worry about it. There’s plenty of time to figure that out while we’re here.” Scorpia said, hoping the woman wasn’t upset. “But… if it means anything, I hope you come back with us. I like hanging out with you.”

“Really? No one’s said that before.”

“Of course. I might not understand what you’re talking about all the time but game night has certainly improved.” She laughed.

Entrapta covered her face with her hands, laughing. “I told you I’m no good at pictionary!”

“Hey you two!” Catra yelled, making both of them cover their mouths to stifle their laughter. “We’re here to work, get that gate open!”

Scorpia snorted. “I still think if she was trying to draw a sword she didn’t need to draw the angry stick figure first.”

Entrapta giggled, typing into the datapad to open the gate.

***

Adora thought the teleportation circle felt like getting pulled inside out starting at her belly button. It was nothing like teleporting with Glimmer. Apparently she wasn’t the only one. Bow was bent over taking deep breaths with his eyes tightly shut. “You gonna be ok over there?” She asked, too wobbly on her feet to go over and check.

“Yep.” Bow chirped.

“Oh come on you guys, it wasn’t that bad.” Glimmer giggled.

“Says the witch who can do magic.” Bow moaned. He slowly stood up and opened an eye to look around. The pale marble walls of Brightmoon were gone and they were standing in the afternoon light on a mountain. “There’s not a lot of cover for us to use here. If we want to get to Dryl undetected we’re going to have to get creative.”

“Have either of you been to Dryl before?” Adora asked.

“No. Mom never really let me travel. Going to Plumeria and Salineas was for witch alliance business.”

“I’ve always wanted to come, but the war kinda kept me busy.” Bow shrugged. “We’re here now though.” He took out his datapad. “It should be just over- Uh guys…”

“I felt it too.” Adora pulled out her sword and got low to the ground. They were all quiet as the ground seemed to shake in a rythmic thumping. “What is it?”

“I read that Dryl has mines in the mountains, but this doesn’t feel like mining equipment.” Glimmer whispered. “It feels like it's getting closer.”

“Closer?” Bow whined. “We need to move! Come on, this way.” He took off running with the other two right behind him. They didn’t make it far before rounding a wall of stone and freezing on the spot.

Adora tilted her head back and then kept going. “What is that thing?!”

“I think it’s a bot of some kind.” Bow said numbly. He had read all of the research papers he could that Entrapta had published. She had hinted at a mobile hub… but this was insane. “I don’t see any weapons.”

“Who needs weapons when you can just step on people!?” Glimmer cried. “What are we going to do?”

Adora looked around for cover, but other than a few boulders and cliffs she didn’t see much. “It doesn’t seem to have noticed us. Let’s get past it and to the castle. We don’t have time to waste.”

Glimmer reached into her bag and pulled out a broom. “Hop on.”

“What?” “How?” Bow and Adora asked at the same time.

“The bag can hold all kinds of stuff and I can fly us closer to the castle on the broom.”

“Uh, I don’t know Glimmer. You’ve never flown with three people before.” Bow whined, still remembering the last time he had let Glimmer talk him into riding with her.

“I know, but I hadn’t teleported three people before either and now it's a piece of cake.” She stepped over the broom and gestured to the space behind her. “Come on.”

Adora watched as the archer got on and wrapped his arms tightly around Glimmer. She didn’t see anything to really sit on. “Are you sure about this?”

“No but we don’t have a choice.”

Adora got on behind Bow and grabbed onto him. She closed her eyes tightly and felt the broom lift them up. For a second it was fine, and then it wasn’t. There was no easy way to balance three people on a broom handle and she was sure they were going to fall off. She held onto Bow tighter and felt him huddle in tighter. The air around then suddenly became heavy and wrapped around them, as if holding them onto the broom. She opened one eye and saw the ground getting farther away before clamping it shut again.

“Oh no.”

“OH NO? WHAT OH NO?” Bow yelped, eyes closed just as tightly as Adora’s hold on him.

“Guys look.”

“We would rather not.” Adora whined.

“I think we’re too late.” Glimmer said sadly.

Bow opened an eye and tried not to look down as he looked around. The cryptocastle was in the distance, Horde banners thrown over the Dryl crest.

Adora kept her eyes on the castle. She felt a spark of defeat inside of her chest. Entrapta was dead because of them, and now her kingdom had fallen to the Horde. “We need to take it back.”

“There’s only three of us.” Glimmer said. 

“They couldn’t have been here very long. We go in tonight when it’s dark and scout ahead. SheRa can destroy any vehicles they brought, we can jam their weapons… we can chase out the troop if we act before they get comfortable.”

“Are you sure Adora?”

“We have to.” Bow cut in. “If we can move fast you can use the radio tower to send a message to Brightmoon.”

Glimmer gave a sharp nod. “Hold on, I’m going to try to get closer without them seeing us.”

***

Catra looked around the courtyard of the cryptocastle. She wasn’t sure what she expected when she had gotten this mission, but this wasn’t it. There were dozens of doors and stairs and windows that all seemed to lead back to the courtyard. Entrapta had sent Lonnie, Kyle and Regilio with Emily, assuring them that she had programmed the bot with a map of the castle that would lead them to the warehouse where she had stored the weapons meant for the rebellion.

The rest of the troops were being assigned rooms in the castle by the housekeeper, Dana while the cook, Grey, worked on getting everyone fed. They all seemed happy to see their princess back, but she hadn’t seen anyone else. No guards, no citizens. “This is weird.”

“I know, I don’t think this tracker matches my look.” Scorpia said, carefully pinning the brooch Entrapta had given her to her cape. She didn’t want anyone getting lost and had given the Witch Hunters trackers just in case.

“Not that! The lack of people.”

“Oh, yeah. Entrapta said it was only the four of them. Grey, Dana, Jordan and Entrapta. Other than that it’s just the bots. Kind of like the automatons at Horde Castle.”  
Catra shivered at the idea of only having bots around. She didn’t like many people, but she didn’t like the idea of being alone. “Whatever. Where did she get off to anyway?”

“Entrapta said she had a lot of work she wanted to catch up on in her lab.”

“Lets go make sure she doesn’t get too sidetracked.” Catra grabbed a datapad with a map on it and headed into the cryptocastle.

Entrapta had been confused by the idea of staying. She had grown up in Dryl, had inherited the throne when she was seven. Her whole life was here. So of course she should stay. There was nowhere else for a ruling princess to be. Right? Not that she had anyone to rule. Her staff weren’t really subjects. Her bots weren’t like Emily. Emily had an advanced AI that boarded a sentience she couldn’t have achieved alone.

Looking around her lab filled with half formed ideas and chalk boards covered with schematics and equations she didn’t feel the same excitement she had felt from seeing that single book in Hordak’s library.

She walked over to one of the overflowing work tables. The projects she had started before the witch’s ball seemed so far away. She picked up a few of the pieces of something that would have been useful but it didn’t grab her attention like it once might have. She set them aside and stopped. From underneath a piece of casing she pulled out a crystal. It had been recovered by Monster Slayers months ago but she hadn’t known how to power it on before. Now, after working with the Black Garnet she had an idea. She looked around and raced over to one of the power terminals, pulling open the side panel to get into its wiring.

“Entrapta.” Catra called with an exasperated sigh as she spotted the smaller woman nearly half inside of some form of machine. “Entrapta! What are you doing?”

The woman leaned back and grinned at them. “I had a power crystal I was working on before I left and I think I can get it working now. If I can use it to power this up I can transfer the Black Garnet experimental data to it and transport it back to the Fright Zone-” There was a spark and the lights around the room dimmed for a second before brightening again.

“That’s normal right?” Catra muttered, looking around the room with uncertainty.

“There’s not really a normal to compare it to but no.” Entrapta looked back at the crystal as it started to glow. “Oh! It’s working!” She closed the panel and turned on the monitor next to her. It clicked on with a low hum and displayed a map of the castle and the surrounding land. There were dozens of purple dots covering it and a larger dot moving slowly.

“What are those?” Scorpia asked as she and Catra looked at the display with tilted heads.

“Those are my defence bots, the one moving is Hub XI.” Entrapta said. “This crystal seems to have a similar power output to the synthetic crystals I have seen recovered from the ruins of Blackmoor castle.

Catra asked. “What’s that red dot.”

“Hm? Red means Monster.” Entrapta looked at the red dot and taped at the keyboard. The map disappeared and a static camera view overlooking the mountain range appeared. In the late evening sunlight they could see movement. Crawling low to the ground on thin legs a monster was sniffing around a cave entrance. It had an elongated face with a wide mouth that seemed to nearly split it in half. It’s skin was scared and stretched over its face in patches as though it had been burned.

“That’s a big monster.” Scorpia said quietly as though it could hear her. From nose to the tip of its bony tail she figured it was close to 6 meters long.

The monster on the screen shook its head and let out a roar, displaying hundreds of needle like teeth before quickening its pace toward the castle.

“You’re bots can take it out right?” Catra asked nervously.

Entrapta shook her head. “My bots are down.”

“What?! But I told you to bring them back up once we’re in the castle!” Catra growled.

“I know, but I needed to update them so they wouldn’t think that Horde soldiers were enemies. It’ll take a few more hours. Until then there are no defenses except for the troops and the weapons here.”

“The troops aren’t Monster Slayers!”

“Now Wildcat, I’m sure Entrapta has plenty of weapons here that can help stop it.”

Entrapta lit up. “Field test! Scorpia you’re brilliant.”

“I am?”

“Long range weapons won’t be any good against that monster. Its hide is too thick for it to make any sort of impact. This is the perfect time to test out my new vibroblades!”

Catra looked a little pale. “Vibroblades. You mean swords. The troops aren’t trained in swords.”

“But Witch Hunters are!” Entrapta clapped her hands in excitement. “You can defeat it.”

“I can’t really hold a sword.” Scorpia said lowly, clicking her claws.

“Don’t worry about that, I have something in mind. I’ll get you both suited up and you can get rid of that monster with ease. I even have a few fragmentation explosives you can use on it.”

Catra looked back at the screen but the monster had already left the camera angle. She didn’t like this. But they didn’t have much choice. If the monster got to the castle wall they would have a much bigger problem. “Fine.”

Entrapta ran and jumped onto one of her desk chairs with wheels and let it sail her across the lab. “This’ll be so much fun!!”

“We have different ideas of fun.” The magicat muttered. Entrapta came back with a box and let it hit the ground with a thud before bending over to dig through it. Catra tried to nudge the box with her boot but couldn’t. “Jeez, just how strong are you?”

“I’m just used to working in my lab.” Entrapta said as she pulled out what looked like a sword hilt with wires coming out of the bottom. She took one of Catra’s hands in hers and pricked her skin with a small needle.

“Ouch! What the hell?”

“These virbroblades are still experimental. They give off a large amount of heat and it’s important that the wielder isn’t affected by it.” The scientist said, not paying much attention to the Witch Hunter. She slid the blood sample into the base of the halt and closed it. She handed it over to Catra. “You have to flip the switch.”

Catra glared at the woman but did as she was instructed. The top popped up, held on by a wire wrapped antina and stopped about a meter out. It vibrated warmly in her hand for a second before pulsing with green light and static and forming a blade along the antina. Catra stared at the blade and gave it a few experimental twirls in her hand. “Not bad. What’s it’s life span?”

“Don’t know. That’s part of the experiment.” Entrapta pulled out two strange straps of wires and tied them around Scorpia’s claws. It was more complicated than just one sword halt, but when she was done Scorpia was able to clench her claws together on a pressure pad and had the vibro energy blast to life.

“Oooooh, this is so cool!” The taller woman cheered, looking at the blades that were coming out of her claws.

Entrapta passed Catra a bandelier with two grenades clipped to it before bringing the map back up on the monitor. “I’ll try to get a few of my bots up and running while the two of you head it off. I’ll change the lights for you to follow out of the castle so you don’t get lost.”

“On it, come on Scorpia. We need to deal with that monster before it spooks the troops. If there’s one there could be more and that much noise will draw them out.”

***

“I know using the dark as cover sounds like a great idea, but I don’t think I should fly in it.” Glimmer said as she set the broom down gently.

“Good thinking, we can get closer on foot from here. You wouldn't happen to have anything for invisibility would you?” Bow asked.

“I can teleport us the rest of the way.” She reminded him as she put the broom back in her bag.

“That’s a very bad idea. The cryptocastle is known for its mazes and traps. You teleport in and you may alert the Horde.” He protested.

“Well I hope those traps are giving them hell.” Adora muttered. “What’s the-” She grabbed both of their arms and pulled them behind a rock formation. “Shh.” She pointed down the path at a large shadow.

“What is it?” Glimmer whispered back, trying to crane her neck to get a better view.

“I think… it’s a monster.” Bow whispered back and Glimmer quickly got back behind the rock.

“What?! What is it doing so close to the castle?”

“The Horde must have taken out Dryl’s defenses.” Bow guessed.

“Well, what do we do?” Adora asked. “If we fight it we’ll give away our position.”

“If we get caught by it that will be the least of our worries. It’s got flame scars, it can probably light itself on fire.” Bow explained.

“Why is that even a thing monsters can do!?” Adora whined.

“Shh!”

The three of them slowly leaned around the rock to watch the monster walk by. It’s mouth was big enough to swallow each of them whole. Adora could smell the chard flesh clinging to it and tightened her grip on her sword. They needed SheRa, but an eight foot tall glowing woman was hard to hide. “Glimmer can you teleport us away?”

The witch didn’t have to be told twice as she grabbed on to her friends. They reappeared farther from the castle in the direction the monster had come from. “What’s the plan?”

“I say we let it get to the castle and wreak some havoc for the Horde. It’ll be perfect cover for us to sneak in.” Bow suggested.

“I don’t think we’re going to get that chance.” Adora pointed ahead to the castle. Catra and Scorpia were walking out. “I should have known Catra would be here.”  
“What are they planning? Think they want to capture it like the bat?” Bow asked.

“I don’t think so. They’re coming out alone. They’re not trained to slay monsters.” Glimmer said, mild panic creeping in. “We should use this as a distraction and teleport in.” There was a flash of light and suddenly they saw the vibroblades the Witch Hunters had come to life. “I’ve never seen tech like that before.”

“Stolen Dryl tech no doubt.” Bow growled. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, nocking it to his bow incase he needed it.

***

Catra looked at the monster, trying to find some sort of weak point on it. She was a Witch Hunter, trained to use anti magic weapons, not whatever this was. The monster was even bigger up close, nearly two meters off the ground and it looked quick. She twirled her blade again. “We need to get rid of it fast.” She reminded Scorpia.

The taller woman gave a nod and moved around to her left to flank the creature.

It’s head suddenly snapped in their direction and it opened its mouth to roar, the smell of burnt flesh reeking off of it. The matted fur along its back shimmered and sparked before igniting in flames. It rushed forward, almost skittering along the rocks as it raced toward Catra. She barely ducked out of the way before sliding underneath it to cut along its belly. It screamed, dropping to the ground and rolling.

Catra cursed as she was covered in blood and forced to roll with the monster or get crushed. Or worse, caught on fire. She used her blade to stab into it, hoping to get some leverage and pull herself out of the spin.

Scorpia saw an opening and dashed forward, cutting upward with both of her blades against the monster’s side. The flames licked at her and she had to retreat back or get burned. She spotted Catra manage to get free of the spin from the corner of her eye and sliced back down as it’s boney tail attempted to swat at her.

“Frag!” Catra yelled, pulling one of the grenades and tossing it under the monster as it stopped spinning.

Scorpia jumped back and covered her head as the grenade exploded, sending shrapnel outward.

The monster roared loudly, the sound echoing through the mountains. It stood up and shook out its fur, sending blood and flames out.

Catra was knocked backward and lost her grip on her vibroblade. It hit the ground and sputtered out, the top snapping shut. She looked around for it but the Monster was suddenly after her, it’s wide mouth nearly snapping off her arm as it lunged at her.

***

“They’re no match for that monster.” Adora said, hand tight around the sword of power. “We have to help them.”

“Adora-”

“We’re Monster Slayers. We need to slay it.” She cut Bow off.

He sighed. “Alright.”

***

Scorpia couldn’t get close enough to the flames to distract the monster from its current prey. She turned off the blades and ran forward, clamping her claws around its tail and giving it the strongest tug she could as the flames tried to catch her clothing. The monster grunted and swirled around with a speed she wasn’t ready for. It’s huge mouth opened and an arrow struck it, exploding into a blue foam that expanded and hardened, keeping its teeth from snapping shut.

Scorpia didn’t have time to look back as she was grabbed and in a flash of light teleported away from the flames.

Catra didn’t know why the monster hadn’t eaten her and she wasn’t going to wait around to ask it. She looked around for the vibroblade and snatched it up, clicking it one as she rolled backward onto her feet. She grabbed the last grenade, looking for an opening. The sun had finally set, the dull glow from her blade and the flames from the monster didn’t give her enough light to make a clear shot. There was a prismatic flash of light and she ground her teeth together as the glowing form of SheRa appeared.

SheRa raised her blade and charged the monster, catching the corner of its mouth as it struggled to chew through the foam, and swinging wide.

It screamed and its flames flickered angrily as it’s blood started to pour onto the rocks.

The mythical warrior took a step back and felt something press into her. She glanced back over her shoulder to find Catra with her back against hers, blade raised at the monster. Catra didn’t take her eyes off of her prey and SheRa turned back to do the same. They kicked off from the ground at the same moment and dashed forward. Their blades each caught the monsters front legs and they crippled it so it couldn’t use its speed to attack them.

The monster roared, swinging its tail around to chase them back. It’s flames turned blue with heat and burst from it, forcing them back farther.

“My arrows aren’t breaking through its hide!” Bow called.

“We can’t beat it!” Glimmer yelled.

They were both trapped on the other side of the monster, only visible in the dark because of the fire light.

There was a hollow boom and light flooded the mountain path, blinding them for a second. The monster turned toward the light to hiss but didn’t get the chance as two large javelins pierced through it. It’s flames sputtered and died.

The Witch Hunters and Monster Slayers held up their hands to block out the bright lights and try to see what was happening.

“Sorry that took me so long, I wanted to test this new mobile ballista.” The light tilted down and dimmed.

The sword of power fell from Adora’s hand as she stared in shock. Entrapta was alive. She was there. She had saved them!

“Entrapta!” Bow yelled. “You’re alive!”

The scientist looked confused. “Of course I’m alive. Oh! The monster from the sewer didn’t drown me, Emily saved me.”

Glimmer looked around, trying to piece everything together. Entrapta was alive, the Horde had brought her here. “Entrapta, we came to help Dryl.”

“To free it from the Horde.” Bow added.

Catra chuckled, walking toward the bot Entrapta was sitting on top of. “She doesn’t need your help.”

Scorpia went with her, clicking on the blades on her claws in case they tried anything.

Adora scooped up her sword. “Entrapta, we can free Dryl from the Horde. It’s going to be alright.”

“Give it up Adora, Entrapta isn’t going with you and Dryl belongs to the Horde now.” Catra grinned.

Glimmer’s fists lit up with light but the bot suddenly turned and pointed a javelin at her. “Entrapta?”

Entrapta frowned hard, her hands on the bot’s controls. She wasn’t a witch, she had no magic. She wasn’t part of the witch alliance. They had tried to rescue her but… she was happier in the Fright Zone.

“Princess Entrapta.” Bow called, looking up at her in confusion. “Please, we’re here to help you.”

“I don’t need your help. I have all of the resources of the Horde at my disposal.”

Bow felt the world tilt under his feet and couldn’t breath. What?

Glimmer looked over the three women, each armed, and behind them a castle full of Horde troops. They were outnumbered. She glanced at her friends, both looked shaken. Bow looked broken and Adora looked furious. They couldn’t win. In a flash she disappeared, reappearing only long enough to grab them each and leave.

Catra looked around but didn’t see them. She looked up at Entrapta, but didn’t see her hands near the firing command. “You sure took your time.”

The purple haired woman looked down at her, blinking for a moment as if coming back to reality. She grinned. “The vibroblades worked!!”

“What does that mean?! Didn’t you at least know they worked?!”

***

Bow, Glimmer and Adora landed heavily miles away. Glimmer felt her magic drain and fell to her knees. Her friends sat down at her side.

“Glimmer are you ok?” Adora pushed her hair back.

“I’ll be fine, I got us as far as I could.”

Bow patted her shoulder. “I’ll set up camp.

“Bow, about-”

“Not yet. I need some time.”

“Alright… but when you’re ready?”

He nodded and stood up to start gathering supplies for a fire.

***

With the trade route secure it only took one day to return to the Fright Zone. Catra and Scorpia had a Nomad filled with weapon crates to unload and two of Entrapta’s mobile ballista bots. Overall it was a successful mission.

The door to Hordak’s throne room opened and before the vampire could even ask who was bothering him he spotted the Dryl Princess quickly walking his way. He set aside the files he was reading over. “I did not-” He froze as the woman marched up the stairs to his throne instead of waiting for him at the base.

He had seen her in her torn dress and Witch Hunter attire, but now she was dressed in her own clothing from Dryl. A leather cropped jacket with belts and tools over a dress that stopped at her knees. Striped stockings and steel toed boots. Goggles and leather protective sleeves. He hadn’t expected the woman he had met in a ruined gown to come return dressed for lab work. He noticed the dim light on her hands and couldn’t help but smirk when he realised she was wearing the refracting lace instead of gloves. She was holding something tightly in her hands.

Entrapta stopped in front of Hordak’s throne. She had been thinking and overthinking ever since she had gotten to Dryl and she thought she finally came to a decision. Not wanting to second guess herself any more she had headed straight here upon returning. She held out the crystal. “All of the data from the Black Garnet experiment. I analysed it and I will be able to power more unmanned bots through it for longer distances. I can-” She froze as he took the crystal from her, his claws barely ghosting over her hand.

“Princess Entrapta, that could have been relayed in a report.”

“Well, I actually came to talk to you about something else.”

He looked over the crystal in his hand. “Something that can not be put in a report?”

“I don’t think so.”

He looked up, trying to get a read on her but she was too full of energy for him to figure out if it was nervousness or excitement. “Go on.”

“I’ve decided to stay!”

His ears flicked. “What?”

“I want to stay here in the Fright Zone and work here in your labs to create new bots and study the Ancient ones and everything you have here.” She blurted, bouncing on her toes.

He looked back at her a little in shock. “Of course. I presume you brought your personal things and are having them delivered to you rooms?”

She clapped her hands and spun around. “Going now!” She yelled as she rushed down the stairs.

He watched her go until the doors closed behind her. His ears tilted down and he rubbed his face with his free hand. She had almost left to stay in Dryl.

“I’ve decided to stay!”

He growled, glaring up at the top of his throne where Imp was curled up, watching up with a twitching tail. “Shameless, you just want belly rubs and ear scratches.”

“You just want belly rubs and ear scratches.” Imp mimicked back.


	10. With Great Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra isn't sure what a Witch Hunter is good for anymore. Adora and Bow look for Answers.

“I just don’t understand. What are we going to tell the other Princesses? They all think that she’s dead. They deserve to know she’s alive. Alive just to be against us.” Glimmer sighed. She was sitting on the edge of a fountain with her feet in the water, focusing on the small shiny coins just underneath the surface. She kicked and the surface broke, reflections of the sunlight and her two friends at her sides waved. “We were right there. Why didn’t she come with us?”

Bow was looking down at the coin in his hand, carefully rolling it over his knuckles. He flipped it into the air and caught it. It was easier to focus on this, something he could control, then to think about what had happened. He threw the coin into the water and turned his back to it.

“She’s part of the Horde now. It doesn’t matter why.” Adroa muttered.

“She’s not part-” Bow cut himself off. “Sorry.”

Glimmer put her hand on his shoulder. “No, it’s alright Bow. This is hard for all of us.”

Adora looked across at him. She had seen the same look in her own eyes. When she was alone and thought about all she had left behind. When she thought about Catra. When she thought about how much it hurt to hold out her hand and have it thrown back at her.

Bow was the first Monster Slayer she had ever met. He wasn’t anything like what she had been warned about. He was kind, and giving. He had welcomed her to Brightmoon before anyone else and he had pushed for her to join him as a Monster Slayer instead of just being SheRa. He enrolled her in training, sparred with her, and listened to her. He was the one who showed her what life was like outside of the Fright Zone. Without him Glimmer would have never trusted a Witch Hunter, Queen Angella wouldn’t have believed in her. So much was because of him.

She watched as he pulled another coin from a bag on his hip and rolled it over his fingers again, glaring down at it as though it held some answers. Glimmer stood up from the edge of the fountain and started pacing around it, flickers of light and glitter trailing behind her. “Ugh! I can’t just sit here. It doesn’t matter what happened, it matters what’s going to happen. We need to prepare for a Horde invasion with advanced weapons.” She looked up at the tower where the Moon Stone glowed. “I should find out what the scouting troops have heard and see if there’s anything we can do.”

Adora finally looked away from Bow and gave the witch a weak smile. “Alright. We’ll be here.”

Glimmer gave a sharp nod and teleported away.

“Bow… it’s not an easy choice to change sides. Whatever Entrapta did, it wasn’t to hurt us. It wasn’t personal. Wars are bigger than just one person.”

The archer tossed the coin into the water and looked over at her. “I know. It hurts, but it wasn’t about us. She left for science. I think that’s what hurts the most.”

Adora blinked slowly for a moment. “Uh…what?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t have any magic Adora. I can’t do spells, or draw power from the runestones. I’m never going to be an eight foot tall warrior with a sword that can shoot beams out of it. I’m just me. I train every day and practice with my arrows. I’m a good Monster Slayer. The only edge I have, the only chance I have sometimes, are my trick weapons. I studied all of Princess Entrapta’s work and made my own arrows. Science. That’s what I have.”

“You have more than science, Bow.” Adora tried to comfort.

“I love it though. It’s what I do.”

“You can still-”

“I know I can still make arrows.” He huffed. “It’s the principal!” He stood up from the edge of the fountain. “Science isn’t good or bad Adora. It’s amazing! I’ve made arrows that can explode into a foam that’s so tough it can hold monsters. I’ve made sonic arrows that can fry machines. Cable arrows, smoke arrows, and net arrows! There’s so much more I can do, so much more that science can do for the good of everyone! The rebellion has magic, but that only goes so far. For people like me, someone who will never have magic, I feel like I make a difference with my arrows.”

“I’m sorry.” She said automatically.

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“Well, then I… hear you. I hear what you’re saying, and I understand. It hurts to know that someone is using science to hurt people. When it should be used to help.”

“Yeah. Thanks Adora.”

She thought about all of the things Bow had done. He was more than just the arrows he made. He knew how to track stuff on datapads. He knew all about autohorses. He was better than her at so much. He wouldn’t be lost like she was when it came to SheRa and the sword. He probably would have found out more- She gasped. “That’s it!”

Bow looked around, then back at her with a raised brow and confusion written all over his face. “What’s what?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “I’ve been struggling to figure out SheRa’s powers. There’s not a lot of training I can do that’s not trial and error. But you said that the sword was from the Ancient Ones.”

“Yeah, Glimmer and I tracked the power signal it was giving off when we first found it. The tech from the Ancient Ones has a unique signal that I haven’t seen anywhere else.”

“I’ve been trying to figure SheRa out all this time. What if there’s Ancient One tech out there that can help me?”

“Well sure, maybe somewhere.” Bow said, eyes darting from side to side as he thought. “Maybe I can use the signal from the sword to track something. It’s a long shot.”

“I know it is. But if SheRa is going to be any help to anyone then I need to know more about her powers.” She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re the only one who can help me find what I’m looking for.”

“ It would have to be a dense collection of it to be more than a few crystal shards or dead tech though. I can trace any signature that matches the sword and then cross reference it on maps.” He smiled at her. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Hey, coming from you, it’s as good as done!”

***

“This is fascinating!” Entrapta cooed as she watched a sheet of metal rebuild itself from the other side of a glass wall. She had pulled a large overstuffed velvet sofa into the lab and had a wireless keyboard in her lap as she sat and watched her inventions work.

Scorpia was sitting next to her, a thermos of tea in one claw and a small remote with a button in the other. “It sure is interesting.” She clicked the button and from the other side of the room a cannon charged up and blasted another whole in the metal. A moment later it started to shrink and repair. “How is it doing that?” She asked, taking a sip from her thermos.

“I was able to bring over most of the crystals from my lab in Dryl. Normally crystals can be used to power on equipment, but I developed a way to incorporate coding into them when I make them. I attached a magic sigil to this one that has a configuration program in it that assigns a reconstruction feature when the electric charge is activated.” Entrapta explained happily. “I’ve never gotten it to go so fast before! The rerouted power from the Black Garnet is speeding up the repairs almost as soon as they happen.”

Scorpia hit the button again and the cannon shot another hole through it. “I don’t know what any of that means, but I’m glad you’re happy about it.”

Catra was half laying over the armrest to Scorpia’s left. She had gotten bored watching the cannon and the metal over an hour ago. “Well I don’t know what it meant and don’t see the point.” She muttered before yawning and stretching.

“The metal is made of tiny pieces, held together with an electromagnet. The crystal that powers the magnet tells the metal what shape to take. The more powerful the crystal, the faster the metal regains its shape after being hit.” The scientist said in a flat tone. 

Catra wasn’t sure if Entrapta was trying to be demeaning when she used that tone, but it didn’t matter because she still didn’t see the point. “Fine”

Entrapta typed in a command on her keyboard and the sheet of metal started to fold inward and transformed into a spherical bot with three spider-like legs.

“Aww, it looks like Emily, except it doesn’t have her cute dome head.” Scorpia cooed.

Emily beeped and whistled from her charging port near the window in agreement.

“It doesn’t have any tech inside, it’s just the casing, but if the repairs are this fast the inner workings should remain undamaged. I can’t wait to field test it!”

“And just when will that be?” Catra grumbled. Ever since they had come back from Dryl only the ground troops were deployed. They were monitoring the newly expanded borders of the Fright Zone, and keeping the trade route to Dryl in order, but that was all. There had been no mention of witch hunts. No reports on the witches at all. It was like no one cared about it any more. She stood up from the sofa and stretched. “I’m going for a walk.”

Scorpia glanced over. “Do you need anything Wildcat?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. You stay here and just… keep pressing the button.” Catra muttered as the door closed behind her. She watched as two automatons rolled passed her. Entrapta’s room and private lab were in a part of the castle she wasn’t used to. There weren’t many hunters around but there were plenty of bots rolling around. It reminded her that even for its size, Horde Castle was mostly an empty fortress. Their numbers were dispersed between the machines Lord Hordak made and the witch hunter cadets. Now with Entrapta here it felt like the machine’s were getting more of the attention. She had been the last Witch Hunter to get promoted to Force Captain.

Shadow Weaver was still locked away. Without her in charge of the hunters, there had been no hunts, no advancements. It was like the Witch Hunters were no better than the bots. Catra wasn’t sure when she decided to visit the woman, but by the time she realized that's what she needed to do her feet had brought her to a lift going down to the holding cells.

The heat was immediate. The air was heavy and she should already feel sweat starting to bead on her neck and forehead. The grates along either side of the walkway glowed with the magma underneath and lit her way. It wasn’t often the cells were used, and never for this long. Lord Hordak hadn’t issued any commands, so here she sat.

The once terrifying woman was stripped down to her slip to battle the heat. Her ornate dress stained and useless on the bench beneath her. Her cracked mask was still in place, but the fans did not move in hypnotizing ways. She seemed almost small behind the bars.

“So I am not forgotten just yet?”

Catra felt her fur go on end. Even trapped in a cell for months Shadow Weaver’s voice was like ice. She didn’t reply, not knowing what to say.

The mask jerked to the side to look at the magicat. “Oh, I see. You’ve only come to observe my fall. Well I assure you, I am not all that entertaining to watch.”

“No. That’s not…”

Suddenly Shadow Weaver seemed to unfold from herself. Her legs uncrossed from the bench and she rose to her full height, taking up all of Catra’s vision as she came to the bars. “Time moves differently in here than out there. What’s in been? A few weeks? Months? How long has it taken you to see you are useless?” She hissed.

“I AM NOT USELESS!”

“You all are. All of my Witch Hunters.”

“We’re not yours!” Catra growled. “The Witch Hunters are highly trained, effective soldiers! We’re better than a hundred bots! We’re stronger than the witches!”

Shadow Weaver leaned as close as she could without touching the hot metal separating them and laughed. “You think Hordak believes that? I controlled the Witch Hunters, I controlled the hunts. How many missions have you been on? How many witches have fallen to the Horde since I was dragged down here?”

Catra hissed, baring her fangs. “You don’t control us! We serve the Horde.” She felt cold inside.

“You serve nothing. Without me, you are nothing.”

The Witch Hunter turned on her heel, marching away.

“Go then. Off on a hunt!” Shadow Weaver crooned, her laughter echoing around and following the magicat even as the lift brought her back up into the castle.

As soon as the lift opened she rushed outside to one of the landing ports used for the aerocopters. She let the cool air wash over her and the darkness wipe the horrid vision of Shadow Weaver’s cracked mask from her mind. She didn’t know what brought her down there, what she had hoped to find. Anyone would have been driven mad sitting there for months. That was all. She was wrong. Catra was going to prove it.

In the past it felt like the Witch Hunters were always out. When Catra and Adora had been young, the Witch Hunters were who they admired. They had strength and training, and got to leave the Fright Zone. They went on long missions away. Shadow Weaver sent them everywhere and praised them when they returned. It had been the only way out then. Now Catra felt as trapped as ever. No missions… no purpose to distract her.

Ever since SheRa, ever since then nothing had made sense. She walked back toward Entrapta’s lab, her mind trying to piece something together. Shadow Weaver said she was nothing, but Lord Hordak wouldn't keep the Witch Hunters around for no reason right? Just because there had been no hunts, it didn’t mean Shadow Weaver was right. She couldn’t be right!

“There you are, Wildcat! I was about to go look for you, you’ve been gone for hours.” Scorpia called to her.

“Yeah. Sorry.” She walked back toward the sofa but there was no more metal sheet on the other side of the glass. “What are you up to now? Where’s Entrapta?”

“I’m over here!” The scientist called.

Catra turned and nearly jumped out of her skin. The largest bot she had ever seen was standing there, a heavy pulse cannon pointed right at her. “What the hell is that thing!? How did it get in here?!”

“This is Emily’s Big Sister. Or EBS for short.” Entrapta said happily, patting the side of the large bot. “She’s got a smaller core and a larger crystal. Her casting is made up of metal bits and her regeneration speed is steady!”

Catra carefully stepped out of the way of the cannon. “Right. So, you got a mission for this thing?”

“What?” Entrapta peeped, looking between the bot and magicat.

“A mission, a field test. It’s not doing any good sitting here.”

“Oh. I guess you’re right. Normally I just made the weapons, I never really used them once the lab testing was complete. Even my field tests were limited to the Monsters and mountain terrain of Dryl.” Entrapta taped on her control panel and EBS lifted the cannon barrel in response. “Maybe Hordak has somewhere-”

“He doesn’t have time to tell you how to run your tests.” Catra snapped. She walked over to the newly constructed map table and turned it on. “So let's pick a target and see what this bot can do.”

Scorpia went over to the map. “Well, with the borders of the Fright Zone so uneasy, sending a bot this big out into the field might be dangerous. What’s EBS programmed for Entrapta?”

The scientist climbed up on a chair to get a higher point of view of the map. “Well. She doesn’t have much weapons. The cannon is mainly to redirect kinetic energy from the refracting lace shield I installed on her. But she does have a larger crystal, which would be good for reconnaissance. Oh! I can test out the signal strength here in the Fright Zone and use a display array to watch her progress in real time!”

“Sure, whatever you just said.” Catra muttered.

Entrapta reached out to the map and spread her hands apart, causing the metal to rearrange. “Here, to the Forbidden Zone.”

“The Forbidden Zone? But it’s Forbidden.”

“Scorpia… I don’t think that’s the point.” Catra sighed. “Why the Forbidden Zone?”

“I’ve gotten massive readings for Ancient One tech there, and there’s too many monsters out there to go in person. EBS is more than capable of following the signal I found.” Entrapta pointed at the map and on the waste land they could see monsters roaming around and in a small cropping of dying trees there were ruins of a stone building.

“Wait, what is that?” Catra tried to get the map to zoom in but it wouldn’t move for her.

“I don’t have a strong enough signal to get a better view.” The scientist explained. “That’s where the Ancient One tech is. Once EBS gets closer we will be able to see what it is.”

“It has the same architecture as Horde Castle.” Scorpia mentioned, pointing at the ruins.

“That’s weird, I wonder why.” Entrapta hummed. “Well, we’ll find out soon!” She turned back to the large bot and grabbed the control panel. EBS seemed to melt as the flakes of metal making up her casing folded down and carried the center core out of the room. Suddenly the large monitor at the side of the room lit up and they could see what the camera was recording as it walked through the hallway of Horde Castle.

“I’ll get the popcorn!” Entrapta laughed.

***

“Bow, I know this was my idea, but I’m starting to think it was a bad idea.” Adora panted. She was holding tight to the reins of an autohorse and trying to keep pace with the archer who was leading them through the Whispering Woods. The machines didn’t have natural instincts, instead they relied on their drivers to know what they were doing. While Bow rode on ahead, his steed jumped from overgrown root to path back again all while he watched their progress on his datapad. Adora looked down just as her autohorse leaped over a crack in the ground that plunged downward toward jagged rocks. She felt her stomach drop and slowed down once she was sure she was back on solid ground.

“Adora?”

“I’m fine.” She opened an eye to look at him. “I just need a second.”

Bow pulled the reins around and his autohorse trotted over. He smiled. “Sorry, I’m just excited. This is the largest cluster of Ancient One tech I’ve ever seen.”

“If we get there in one piece you can study all of it.” Adora laughed. “I’m not used to these autohorses yet, and we’re going pretty fast.” She looked around, but the Whispering Woods were forever changing and it was hard to tell where she was. The sunlight was barely coming through the thick canopy above them and it meant that everything far below was in cool shadow. “The Whispering Woods are dangerous, we should be more careful… whats with the look?”

Bow was biting his lip, trying not to laugh. “Nothing. The Whispering Woods are dangerous, but only if you mean it harm.”

“Well how does it know we’re just passing through?”

He shrugged. “Who knows. Magic probably. It’s never attacked me before. I don’t get lost often and I’ve lived in the Woods my whole life.”

“You live in the Woods? I thought you lived at the castle… is this why I’ve never seen your room and we only have sleepovers in Glimmer’s room.”

“We have sleepovers in Glimmer’s room because I have optimized fort building there. But not everyone lives in the castle Adora.”

“I live there.”

“Sure, but you’re SheRa. I don’t think that Queen Angella wants the mythical hero to wander off and get lost in the Woods.

“I wouldn’t get lost, I am an expert tracker.”

“The trees move Adora, it wouldn’t be your fault.” He looked down at his datapad. “We’re close to the edge of the woods. From there it's going to be a lot of open area to stay hidden in. We don’t want to attract monsters.”

“Do you think we should have told Glimmer where we were going?” Adora finally asked. It had been at the back of her mind when they loaded up supplies. She had expected Bow to be the one to tell the witch, but he hadn’t.

He sighed. “This is selfish, but I want to do this without magic.”

“SheRa’s magic.” Adora said quietly.

“And she’ll be there in case of an emergency.” He replied. “I know we’re heading into dangerous territory, but we’ll be fine if we stay smart about it.” He leaned over to show her the datapad. “The Forbidden Zone is full of monsters, we should be able to get to the Ancient One’s tech before nightfall and stay out of sight.”

“Alright. Lead the way.”

He turned is autohorse around and kicked it into gear. She held tight to her reins and followed, trying to stay in the saddle and not look down.

Soon the Whispering Woods started to thin out and the greenery around them faded away as the ground became plains of dead or dying grass. Adora could see clusters of bare trees in the distance. Bow had come to a stop at the height of a large boulder. “I probably should have asked this before, but have you ever been to the Forbidden Zone before Bow?”

“No, I’ve read a lot about it, but I’ve never been this close to it. Nothing grows here. Samples of the dirt have been taken and studied, but there’s nothing there to explain what’s keeping the plants from thriving. It gets sunlight, unlike the Fright Zone, and there’s no underground magma flow.”

Adroa looked out into the plans. There was too much ground to cover and not enough places to hide. “I see Monster tracks to the North of here. I don’t know how fresh they are from this distance. It looks big though.”

“Lucky us, we’re not going North. We’re heading West.”

“I don’t think that really makes us lucky. You sure about this?”

“It’s the biggest source of Ancient One tech this close to Brightmoon. It’s our best chance to find out anything about SheRa. Lets go!”

Adroa watched as he raced forward into the plans and for a moment her worry was pushed aside by respect. He wanted to use his knowledge for good, and with just the hint of a plan from her he had set his mind to it. She snapped her reins to follow.

Bow set their course to get to the closest range of dead trees and from there they were going on foot. It wouldn’t be good for a quick getaway, but it would be much easier to hide from Monsters. “The signal is leading us past that range of trees.” He said softly as they moved forward slowly.

“Something’s off about this place?” Adora said, looking around. “I feel like something’s watching us.”

“I’m not picking up any life forms on my datapad.”

“I don’t know what it is… it feels like the Fright Zone. I know that doesn’t make any sense.”

“I trust you Adora. If you say it feels like the Fright Zone I believe you. Maybe nothing grows here for a similar reason it doesn’t grow there- Woah…” He stopped in his tracks as they got to the crest of the ridge. Far down below in a valley was a castle. It was black metal, covered in briar. “It looks like Horde Castle.”

Adora was staring at it, feeling dread rise in her chest. “This was a bad idea. This castle looks toppled.” She pointed out where it’s walls had collapsed and vines had crawled over it. The vines were black and covered in two inch thorns. “It must have fallen years ago. What’s it doing out in the middle of the Forbidden Zone?”

“I’ll have to look into this place some more once we get out of here.” Bow tapped on his datapad. “But that Ancient One signal is definitely coming from these ruins.”

“You’re sure there’s no life signs coming from it? Once we start making our way there, we won’t have cover until we reach it.”

“I’m sure. It’s go.”

They climbed over the last of the roots and slid down the other side. The castle was much smaller than Horde Castle, in fact it was even smaller then Brightmoon Castle, but from its side a buttress loomed above them, broken off half way down. Adora paused mid step as she spotted a landing pad high above them, cut off now by damage. What was this place? She looked down to find Bow almost to the vines. She ran to catch up. “What do you think this place is? It’s obviously a castle of some kind, do you think the Ancient One’s lived here?”

“There’s never been any recorded knowledge of where the Ancient Ones lived. Just artifacts.” Bow looked up at the wall. “Why is this the only plant that’s grown here?” 

He took the bow from his back and tried to break the vines. They snapped easily, pulling sheets of thorns crashing to the ground. The wall underneath seemed rusted and dented from its fall. “Do you see an opening to get in?”

“From here? No. Even if we got in everything would be sideways, lets try that section over there, it looks stable.”

“Good idea.”

They walked around the ruins, spotting small bits of walls and beams of metal overgrown with the same briar. “This is so weird, my data pad says the tech should be right here.” Bow stopped walking but there was nothing around them that looked like the tech he was used to.

Adora looked up and raised her hand to block the bright sun. Above them a section of the castle loomed, rotted and impossible to get to. “Please tell me it’s not up there.”

Bow looked up and sighed. “It’s pos-” He was cut off by a hollow echo. He looked to Adora, the color draining from his face as they both froze in place. “Adora.” He whispered. “We need to-”

The ground opened up, sucking them down with dirt and vines into the darkness beneath.

***

“This is… so boring.” Catra whined. The monitor had been on for hours. EBS was recording and sending its signal back to the monitor in Entrapta’s lab. Everything from it’s exit of the castle to it’s trek out of the village. It had been interesting to watch the cadets freak out over it, but once it left the borders of the Fright Zone there was nothing. It had retracted its legs and the cannon and taken the form of a sphere to roll out and cover more ground. Entrapta had recorded its top speed at 48 kph and then started ranting about using its speed in future inventions, or something like that, Catra had tuned most of that out.

Scorpia looked over to her with a small smile. She didn’t understand most of what Entrapta was saying either, but that was fine. Most of the time Entrapta wasn’t really talking to them anyway. Her recorder was her main focus. “Hey, EDS is almost to the location.”

“Oh joy.” Catra sat up, stretching her back and rubbing her shoulders. “So, what’s all the way out in the Forbidden Zone anyway?”

Entrapta had been sitting on top of Emily, the bot’s dome head in her hands as she watched the screen from a foot away. She looked back at the two Witch Hunter’s sitting on the sofa with a wide grin. “Look!” She tapped the control panel adn EBS stopped rolling, the camera paused and focused on something in the distance. It slowly zoomed in and they were left looking at what seemed to be a miniature Horde Castle in the middle of a barren field. “That’s where the signal is coming from. With EBS there I have a more detailed map of the area. The focusing crystal inside of her casting is resonating with something there.” She waved a hand and the screen changed to a blueprint that turned from an overhead to a sideways view. Below the ground the castle continued. “It’s down there. This is so exciting!”

“Why does that place look like Horde Castle?” Catra asked, looking at the castle that was steadily growing closer.

“Horde Castle has been in the Fright Zone for over a hundred and fifty years and is made up of a specific architecture found in remote locations on Etheria.” Scorpia said. “Most of the castle was pieced together from sections brought here from other places.”

Catra blinked slowly, looking at the clawed woman. “Force Captain orientation?”

“Oh no. My grandfather was king of this area before it became the Fright Zone and my mother told me this.”

“Fascinating!” Entrapta cooed, looking at Scorpia with wide eyes. The screen beeped and she turned back to it as EBS reached the first ruin. “I don’t see anything indicating the cause of decay. No weapon residue, fire, explosions… it just seems abandoned. The weight of these vines must be the cause of it’s topple. The environment around this castle is much like the Fright Zone. Curious.” She tapped at her controls and EBS walked forward slowly and looked down at a large crack in the ground that led into darkness. “That’s not a safe egress point. The fall wouldn’t damage EBS but it wouldn’t lead to the source of the signal.”

The bot carefully walked backward and then over toward a section of the castle that seemed to have pierced the ground when it fell. She climbed up the side of the metal, ignoring the two inch thorns that would have torn any of them to shreds. The casting folded back and four metal coils emerged from the front around the camera lens, heating up to emit light as EBS traveled below the surface of the ground into the ruins of the castle.

***

“BOW! WHERE ARE YOU!?”

“ADORA I’M HERE!” Bow coughed, waving dust away from his face so he could breath. “I’m alright. Whatever I landed on it broke and padded my fall. Are you okay?”

Adora took a moment to feel over herself. “I’m okay. It just knocked the wind from me. Where are you?”

“Hold on.” Light suddenly flooded the chamber as Bow held up one of his arrows, the tip ignited in flame. He looked up above them. “We must have fallen ten meters. I have rope in my backpack, I can shoot an arrow up there and we can climb out.”

Adroa carefully stood up, brushing dirt off of her. “That’s a good plan, but what did we fall into?” She looked around but the flame wasn’t enough to light the room around them. She pulled the rapier from her side and raised it high over her head.

“FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!”

Soft light flooded out from SheRa and the room around them brightened. Bow blew out the flame on his arrow and looked around. “I’ve never seen a room like this.” It was strange and broken up into smaller areas. Nothing looked familiar to him. Time had degraded everything into a rotten mess.

“...Starport…”

Bow turned back to Shera. “What?”

She pointed ahead and carefully walked over the debris they had fallen on. On the wall a pattern of lines and shapes was carved.

“Ancient One’s writing!” He said happily. He reached out and touched it but nothing happened.

“It says Starport.” SheRa said.

“You can read it?”

She shrugged, looking at him in confusion. “Clear as day. It doesn’t say anything else though. I think this part is a direction.” She traced it with a finger and it lit up in the wall. Suddenly a line of light pulsed under the metal and traced the wall and then out of side around a corner.

“Should we follow?” Bow asked, but he couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice.

“Let’s be careful. The hole we fell through might be our only way out and I don’t want to get lost down here.” The glowing warrior said as she started to follow the line.

“Sounds good. I’m mapping out our way on the datapad. What do you think a Starport is?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about the Ancient Ones.”

They turned the corner and the line continued down a long hallway to a set of doors. SheRa cleared the overgrown vines from the hinges with her sword before hitting it with her shoulder. Dust rained down on them for a second but they walked into a larger room unhindered.

“Woah…” Bow looked around at the massive room. “What is this place?”

“I don’t know, the line is gone.”

They were standing on a balcony that was made of glass. Most of the panels were shattered or cracked. It continued to their right and turned to follow the wall toward a set of stairs down to the floor beneath them. The room was so big SheRa’s glow didn’t fill it and the back was lost to shadow.

“What’s that say over there?” Bow pointed along the wall where the stairs were.

She squinted. “Information Hub.”

“Information Hub sounds important, let’s get over there.” Bow stepped out onto one of the metal beams that was left to support the glass balcony. SheRa carefully followed after him, wondering what kind of maniac built a floor out of glass. The section of floor in front of the writing was metal plates and they were able to stop there without fear of falling through. Bow waved his hand to give SheRa the go ahead to touch the symbols.

The words flashed as her hand came to rest on it and then went out.

“Hello”

Bow and SheRa screamed loudly, swirling around with weapons ready to attack.

A semitransparent woman floated before them, hands carefully folded behind her back and pale eyes staring ahead.

“Who are you!?” SheRa yelled, her heart pounding in her chest.

“I am Light Hope, AI Information Hub at this Starport.”

Bow lowered his arrow. “What is a Starport?” The strange woman didn’t move. He shrugged. “Must be a SheRa thing.” He whispered.

The warrior gave a small nod and lowered her sword. “Light Hope… what is a Starport?”

The image of the woman flicked for a moment. “I do not understand your question.” She raised a hand and hovering in the space above it more Ancient One’s writing appeared. “My memory bank is corrupted. Please select a pre authorized topic I can help you with.”

“Um… What about Light Hope AI information hub?” SheRa asked, selecting the first option.

“I am Light Hope, AI Information Hub at this Starport. This location is a small fraction of my database available for use mapping Starport traffic. My mainframe is located in the Crystal Castle. All of my functions can be accessed at my mainframe. Please select another authorized topic.”

“Ask her where the Crystal Castle is.” Bow suggested. 

“That’s not really one of her topics. Where is the Crystal Castle located?”

Light hope put down her hand and the selections disappeared. She raised her other hand and a floating globe appeared and then opened like a map.

Bow raised his datapad to record what he was seeing. A lot of the map was glitchy, and he couldn’t read the writing, but he knew they needed to find this castle. “What about SheRa?”

“Light Hope, what can you tell me about SheRa?”

The map disappeared. “I do not understand your question. My memory bank is corrupted. Please select a pre authorised topic I can help you with.”

“Great”

***

“This is amazing! We’re in some sort of port. Look at all of the landing bays on this map!” Entrapta cheered, using EBS’s camera’s to look over a map on a wall.

“You can read all of that?” Scorpia asked.

“It’s basic Ancient One. This map is displaying routine evacuation routes.” She traced the screen. “There’s a data crystal here! Imagine all of the information stored on it!”

Catra shook her head. “I know the crystals can last a long time, but are you sure you can get to this one?”

“I can certainly try.” EBS turned sharply and headed down a long hallway. Every time writing appeared on a wall the camera would swivel and record a still image for Entrapa to look at and study later. “If I got it right, this is the mainframe room.” The bot slammed down one of its legs on the door handles and then shoved the doors open. Inside it was dark and most of the tech rotted and corroded.

“What are we looking at?” Catra sat forward. “Ancient One tech doesn’t corrode like this.”

“You’re right. This is curious. I don’t think this was originally an Ancient One castle.” Entrapta mumbled quietly as she controlled EBS through the room.

“Then… what’s with all the writing? Where’s the signal coming from?”

“That’s a good question.”

Catra blinked, looking over at the scientist. Had Entrapta just complimented her?

“There. The signal is coming from this.” EBS reached forward and pulled back a panel. Inside was a red crystal pulsing with energy. The bot’s leg rose up and hovered in front of the crystal before the tiny bits of metal reshaped into smaller delicate arms and grabbed it, pulling it from the system it was plugged into.

Suddenly the hum of power cut off with a hollow boom and the room pulsed with light. A loud alarm blasted through the room and Entrapta covered her ears quickly.

Scorpia reached forward on the controls and cut the sound. “What was that?”

“Security most likely. EBS needs to get out of there if we want to get that crystal back to Horde Castle.” Entrapta quickly back the bot up and placed the crystal inside of its casing.

“Security? You think there’s really something left in this place?” Catra asked, watching as the bot rolled out of the room.

“If the crystal was giving out that large of a power signal, then yes I fully believe it could have powered security.”

***

Light Hope disappeared as the room flashed with light. Where the hologram had been projecting Ancient One writing appeared. “That does not look good!” Bow yelped.

“It says threat detected- I think we need to get out of here!” The lights flashed agan and SheRa felt dread. The back of the large room was dark, her glow didn’t penetrate that far. The lights flashed again and she was sure some of the ruble there was closer. “Bow, we need to go- now!”

Another flash and the ruble was closer. Scrapping and crashing echoed around them. “What’s going on?!” He yelled over the noise.

“I think the room is getting smaller! We need to move or we won’t get back to the door!”

Another flash and they watched as the edge of the balcony started to fold under the weight of the wall.

They took off, jumping from beam to beam as they raced to the only exit. Bow missed his step and the glass shattered under his weight. SheRa grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the hall just as the wall passed them.

“Thank you”

“I don’t think this is over, which way did we come from?”

He pointed down the hall but paused as they heard a crash behind them. Turning they watched as a Horde Bot rolled into view. He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and fired. It exploded into stick foam and the bot jolted to a halt.

“Bow we don’t have time-”

“What’s it doing here?”

“Bow-” A flash of light and the wall behind the bot was closer.

***

“Is that-

“SheRa! What is she doing there?!” Catra was suddenly on her feet. “The whole castle is folding in on itself.”

Entrapta forced EBS to spin and break free of the foam. “Yes, I imagine she is heading back to whatever way she got in. We need to follow, our path is already blocked.” EBS refocused her camera just as Bow raised another arrow but SheRa forced him to retreat.

“Bow, we don’t have time!”

They ran forward and the bot rolled behind them, the wall ever closer.

They got back into the room with the crack far above them and Bow tied a rope around his arrow. “You sure this will be enough?” SheRa asked as the arrow made it out.

“No… But we don’t have time for anything else.” Bow tugged on the rope but the arrow grappling hook must have hooked onto something.

SheRa moved to lift him but the lights flashed and the far wall was suddenly closer. The bot was at another wall, its legs breaking through the metal to climb upward like a spider. She grabbed Bow and lifted him over her head. “Go!”

He grabbed the rope and started to climb, one arm over the next, trying to focus only on the task and not the suddenly closer wall that would crush them. He yelped as the arrow suddenly came loose and he started to fall. He jerked to a stop and nearly lost hold. Looking up the bot was stuck to the ceiling, one of its arms out holding the rope steady.

“What are you doing!?” Catra snarled, looking at Entrapta.

“If they fall, they won’t make it out.”

“Wildcat.” Scorpia said quietly. “It...doesn’t seem right to let them die out here.”

“We’re Witch Hunters.” Catra growled. “We capture Witches and bring them back here to-”

“Bow’s not a Witch.” Entrapta said simply. She watched as the archer climbed free of the folding castle and reached down to help SheRa.

Catra looked at the monitor, feeling a cold sweat break out. SheRa was gone and Adora was in her place, climbing the rope as fast as she could, Bow pulling from the other end. The wall was so close she was kicking off of it. EBS let go of the rope then and put its arm against the wall, digging its other legs into the ceiling as it tried to hold it off.

The casing splinted and reformed, crumbing just as Adora squeezed passed and out into the open air.

The magicat hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath until that moment.

“EBS won’t make it out.” Entrapta said sadly. She watched as the leg crumbled and the bot lost hold of the ceiling, falling down into the debris. The light in the room sputtered out as the crack above vanished under the wall and then the monitor went blank.

“Entrapta, I’m sorry.” Scorpia said, patting her friend on her shoulder.

Entrapta smiled back. “Don’t be! We got so much data!! That was a wonderful field test! I might have lost the crystal, but I have all of the recordings to study! Imagine what I can do with EBS 2.0!”

***

Bow wrapped his arms tightly around his friend as she hugged him back. They stayed there in silence for what felt like hours before the nervous laughter started to fill the air. “We do not tell Glimmer!”

“No, and we never try something like this without her again!”

***

Catra tried to shake whatever she was feeling, but it wasn’t easy. Everytime she closed her eyes she saw Adora staring back, fear in her eyes as she raced to escape the castle about to crush her. She looked at Scorpia, but the Witch Hunter didn’t seem to be upset about helping their enemy. Or if she was, she wasn’t saying anything, which probably meant she was fine because Scorpia talked to her about everything. The only one who was talking was Entrapta. She had filled an entire glass wall with scribbles. Some of them looked like Ancient One’s writing, other parts looked like the crystal they had seen.

“This is fascinating! My translations must be off, I’ve never read anything about this.”

Catra shook her head. “Come on Scorpia, I don’t think she needs us right now.”

“Sure thing. I could go for a walk. Mess hall?”

“Sounds good.”

Entrapta didn’t notice as the Witch Hunters left. She was scribbling out all of the Ancient One’s writing she had from EBS’s recoding. “What is…. Primeline Starport?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's sticking around. Entrapdak heavy chapter next.


	11. Nowhere Left to Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak and Entrapta are NERDS

“It’s been three days.” Catra said quietly from the doorway of Entrapta’s lab. A step behind her Scorpia stood frozen, looking around the room with more than a little worry. The scientist hadn’t spoken to them since EBS’s field test. She hadn’t even stepped out of her lab and now they knew why. Entrapta had wires running from one side of the room to the other, Emily beeping and blinking in the middle of it with cables attached to her. The glass wall that the scientist had been writing notes on was so thick with writing it was hard to see through. There were plates of food left for the princess, mostly untouched, and empty glasses on every flat surface. Entrapta had crashed at some point. From the back of the sofa they could see her long purple hair hanging off of the side and one arm dangling to the floor.Catra looked back at the other Witch Hunter and shrugged. They hadn’t heard anything from the smaller woman and had filled their time with rounds and basic paperwork. Catra would have continued to let the silence be but Scorpia had made the point they were supposed to be helping Entrapta under Lord Hordak’s orders. Maybe she could just tell him that Entrapta didn’t have anything new to report. Which wasn’t entirely untrue.

“I’ll start getting some of this mess cleaned up. Why don’t you wake her up and see if you can talk her into a bath.” Scorpia suggested, already reaching for the plates of food.

“Wait what?! You must be joking. We’re not her maids.”

Scorpia sighed. “Entrapta was probably upset about losing EBS and we didn’t even check on her. If you don’t want to help that’s okay. I’ll get her up and you can-”

“Fine.” Catra’s ears pinned back and she walked through the lab and around the sofa. “Hey” Entrapta was lying chest down with one arm hanging off the front, the other arm curled under her head like a pillow. She had pulled off her stockings and vest at some point and was in her thin white dress, her long hair splayed out like a spider web around her. Papers and datapads were scattered around her and forgotten, her hands were splattered with ink and some had rubbed off on her cheek while she slept.

Catra gently reached out, putting her hand on Entrapta’s bare shoulder to shake her awake.

The scientist jerked awake, pulling away and sending most of the papers to the ground. She sat up, her dress slipping down as she blinked her eyes and tried to get her bearings. “Catra? Is the algorithm finished?”

“Uh…”

Emily beeped loudly and Entrapta frowned. “No matches at all?” She got to her knees to look over the back of the sofa. “Oh, hi Scorpia.”

The woman gave a small wave with her free claw as she stacked up as many plates as she could without causing them to topple.

“What have you been doing in here?” Catra asked, crossing her arms. Entrapta didn’t seem any different then how she normally was. This was a waste of time. 

“I was having Emily run searches for the Ancient One writing we found, but so far there have been no matches. I can’t find any references to the place we located in the Forbidden Zone but it must have been important to have a crystal of that size integrated into its operating system.”

“...Sure. You need a bath.”

“What?” Entrapta paused, trying to catch up with what Catra was talking about. She had been sleeping, and before that she had been pretty deep in her work. “That’s not necessary.”

“It’s been three days. You need to eat real food and then maybe sleep in your actual bed.” Catra sighed. “This place is a mess.”

Entrapta looked around at her lab. “Maybe to you, but I-”

“Have ink on your face.”

She looked down and sure enough she had spilled ink on her hands while trying to write her notes down and figure out a new search algorithm. At some point her refracting lace gloves must have powered down. “Maybe a bath is in order.” She admitted. “Thanks Catra.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it. Scorpia is the one you should thank.”

“Oh no, no need to thank me for anything. I’ll just get this stuff out of here and get you a real lunch ready. Tiny sandwiches?”

Entrapta grinned. “Enough for all of us!”

Catra shook her head and headed for the door. “I’ll be back once you’ve both got this place presentable.” She closed the door behind her. 

She needed some fresh air. Checking on Entrapta was one thing, but having lunch felt like down time. And downtime was not what she wanted. She needed to keep busy. The last few days she had tried to push everything that had happened out of her mind. Adora climbing the rope had haunted her dreams. She had almost died, and she was only alive because Entrapta had thought to help. Catra had wondered how she would have felt if Adora hadn’t made it, but that thought only made her head hurt. Adora had left her here. She had abandoned their plans and her. Scorpia had served as a good distraction from it, but that wasn’t all that had bothered her. It had been three days since Shadow Weaver. The woman was still in the cells beneath the castle. She was left there to what? To die? Did Catra want that? She had terrorized her throughout her childhood. She had pushed her so hard and berated her, and even now she told her she was useless.

There had to be something she was missing. What did Shadow Weaver know that had brought her all the way to the top of the Horde? What did Lord Hordak need her for? With Scorpia busy with Entrapta now, she had time to look into this. She stepped onto the lift, steeling herself to come face to mask with the woman.

***

“Still sniffing around here?” Shadow Weaver’s voice circled around her like smoke as Catra stopped in front of the bars.

Why had she come here? Did she really think Shadow Weaver would change? She would suddenly show her the affection she had only shown Adora? Catra almost didn’t see Shadow Weaver move, her thoughts a million miles away. But there she was, her cracked mask even with her on the other side of her prison.

“What’s this? Nothing to say?” Shadow Weaver purred.

“Why haven’t there been any Witch Hunts?”

She could feel the smile creep up on the woman’s face even though she couldn’t see it. She had trained to be a Witch Hunter. Adora was gone. There had to be a reason she was here doing this.

“Why not ask Lord Hordak?”

“He has the rest of the Fright Zone to run.” Catra said calmly. She had told herself the same thing.

“True.”

“He entrusted the Witch Hunters to you. Why?”

Shadow Weaver laughed at that, the sound piercing. “Because I demanded it. I demanded the respect he gave me. You won’t get far begging for it.” Catra bit her cheek to keep from yelling at the woman. She had come here to ask questions, she could leave if she wanted to. Shadow Weaver reached up, resting her hand on the metal bars. Catra fought not to take a step back as though she could reach her. Her gloves were missing and her dark hands were covered in webbed scars. “Demand your audience, demand your respect. Or nothing will ever change.”

Catra stepped back from the cell and turned away.

“Leaving so soon? Well, until next time then.”

The magicat shivered as she stepped on to the lift. Next time. Would there be a next time? She didn’t want to admit that there would be.

***

Catra walked through the castle, passing bots and cadets and other Witch Hunters who didn’t give her a second glance as she headed toward the throne room. For a split second she wondered if she was going crazy. While she was the only one who had lost her friend, why didn’t the other Witch Hunters seem worried about the lack of hunts, about Shadow Weaver being in a cell, about any of this. She looked at the two automatons guarding the doors. “I de- I wish to speak with Lord Hordak.”  
The automatons rolled apart and the doors opened with a hiss.

She walked the length of the carpet and stopped at the base of the stairs that lead up to the throne. He wasn’t there.

“Force Captain, what do you have to report?” Hordak asked, making her jump and turn around. He was standing farther in the room, half hidden by shadows. She could just barely make out some sort of machine in the darkness. He must have been working on a new weapon for the Fright Zone.

“Princess Entrapta is still deciphering her recordings from the latest field test.”

He walked over to her, stopping at the edge of the carpet, standing taller than her and looking bored. “If that is all, I have other things to attend too.”

“I- want a mission.”

He raised a brow at that, looking her over with his glowing eyes. “A mission?”

“A witch hunt.”

He scoffed. “I have no need for any more witches.”

She felt the ground beneath her tilt. No more witches? “But sir, I’m a Witch Hunter.”

“You are a Force Captain. Your mission is to assist Princess Entrapta with whatever she needs.” He regarded her for a moment and carefully stepped around her. “You have shown initiative. If you want a field mission, then take Force Captain Scorpia with you and a select team. There is an artifact I require. It is located in an ancient library in the Valley of the Lost.”

Catra’s tail twitched. The Valley of the Lost was dangerous. She didn’t know about any libraries out there. “What’s the artifact sir?”

“I will give Entrapta the homing signal. That is all you will require.”

She clicked her heels together. “Yes Sir.”

“Dismissed Force Captain.” He said, already walked back into the depths of the shadows.

She walked out of the room, feeling both lighter and more confused. A field mission would clear her head. That’s what she needed.

Entrapta’s lab was only a little neater when she arrived. The food debris was gone and Scorpia had set up a table by the sofa with a fresh lunch on it. Emily was no longer hooked up to the cables and was freely rolling around the room. The scientist herself had her wet hair braided down her back as she and the clawed Force Captain laughed about something. “Glad to see this place in mostly one piece again.” Catra said, pushing aside a bundle of wires that ran along the floor with her foot.

“Catra, we saved you some lunch!” Entrapta said happily. “Tiny salmon sandwiches!”

“Thanks.” She sat down on the last free space, ignoring the look Scorpia was giving her. “Lord Hordak has a new mission for us. He-”

“Oh that must be what his message was about.” Entrapta chirped. She held up a datapad. “I didn’t really understand it at first, something about a signal to track into the Valley of the Lost. It looks like the signal matches an Ancient One’s crystal, but it’s farther than I’ve tracked before and it’s not sending out a constant stream of power like the ones I’ve seen. I wonder how he knew about it.”

“Scorpia and I are going with a team, you’re staying here. Can you get us something to follow the signal with?”

“Sure! I’ll prepare some bots to go with you. It’s a long way to go, but if you take a Nomad X you should have room for them. They’ll record everything that they see with their lens and transmit a signal for you to a datapad.”

Scorpia frowned. “I’m not too familiar with the Valley of the Lost. It’s passed the Freezing Mountains to the South of the Kingdom of Snows, but that’s all I know.”

“Lord Hordak said we are looking for an ancient library.” Catra said. “So, we have our mission and we do it. We don’t need to know anything else.”

“An Ancient Library?” Entrapta asked, then suddenly perked up. “I can use the Northern Library to translate my recordings from the Forbidden Zone!”

Catra blinked at her, wondering how she kept up with her own thoughts sometimes. “Hey, no bothering Lord Hordak while we’re gone.”

***

“Hey Bow, you wanted to talk to me?” Adora called, finding the archer out in the gardens. She waved to him and he waved back, holding up a datapad.

“I was looking at the map Light Hope showed us.”

“You were able to figure out where the Crystal Castle is?” She asked excitedly.

“Well not exactly. There’s a lot of static I can’t get through. But I had an idea. It might take me a few days to work things out but I’m sure I’ll get the location of this castle.”

“A few days? Sure, how can I help?”

“Oh, uh. That’s the thing. I should really do this alone-”

“Bow! We nearly died in the Forbidden Zone! Didn’t you learn we shouldn’t go off alone? Whatever it is, Glimmer and I can help you.”

“No, no, it’s not like that!” He yelped, waving his hands as though trying to clear the idea from the air. “I just need some more time to study this and I think doing it away from Brightmoon might help. I promise, I’m not going anywhere dangerous.”

Adora frowned. “Can you tell me where you’re going?”

“Just in the Whispering Woods. Brightmoon can get a little hectic with all the guards running around and Glimmer trying to spy on her mom’s meetings.”

“Yeah, I suppose. Alright. I’ll try to keep Glimmer busy while you’re gone so you can work on it.”

“Thanks Adora.” He smiled down at the image on his datapad. “This Crystal Castle might hold all of the answers about SheRa.”

“It would be helpful to us SheRa’s powers on purpose.” Adora patted the blade at her side. “I’ll see you later Bow.”

“Yeah, next time I’ll have answers!”

***

“I’m not going to bother Hordak.” Entrapta said to Emily. “He never said anything about not using the library. These translations must be off and the faster I get them sorted out the faster I can work on EBS 2.0!” She gave a silent cheer and waved her hands for a second. “The bots I sent with Scorpia and Catra are of similar design but I wasn’t able to give them bigger power crystals. Their casing won’t regenerate at the same speed as EBS was able to.”

Emily beeped at her, rolling along behind her.

“No, I don’t think your casing should be changed. Your panels are well protected with the refracting shield I was able to develop and I don’t know if the electromagnet will respond well with the light frequency.” She tapped her recorder. “Refracting lace research log forty five, test the light pattern on the electromagnetic bot casing.” She tapped the button again. “Now, come on Emily, I have fifteen of these translations to confirm. If I can figure out what they say it may lead me to similar Ancient One Tech or at the very least explain what its purpose was. I’ve never seen a crystal used like that. It didn't seem to be integrated with... ” Entrapta looked around and stopped walking. She was sure she had heard something. The library was at the top of the castle, so why did she hear water? The water tanks were near the base level. She didn’t see any of the pipes that she had gotten used to seeing everywhere else. So where was the sound of rushing water coming from?

She started walking toward the sound but Emily rolled in front of her.

“I know the library is that way, I just want a quick look.”

Emily beeped at her.

“Oh don’t worry so much. Hordak said he had a workstation near the library, I bet it's one of his inventions. I just want to take a peek.” She patted Emily’s dome and walked past her.

The lab was as large as her personal one in Dryl. Well lit from above by electric lights. There were dozens of glass pipes running along the walls and ceilings, all filled with rushing water. At the far end of the room there were five large tanks, each with metal pipes inside. From this distance it was hard to see what was happening, but Hordak was at the first tank. He hadn’t noticed her enter the lab and had an open data bank infront of him. The tiny circuits and electronics seemed to control the pipes inside the tank.

Emily tried again to stop Entrapta from going any further. The scientist reluctantly stopped. She watched the vampire work quietly until a loud electrical zap echoed through the room and he roared in pain, tossing the data bank to the ground.

Hordak flexed his hand, thankful the lace had protected him from most of the shock. This control coil was almost eaten through and would need to be replaced soon. He didn’t have the resources to change it out now. He would have to switch this tank to half power until he was able to get a hold of more silver. The hydrogen production would slow down but at least it wouldn’t blow up. He looked down at the data bank he had thrown and could already see it needed to be repaired before he could continue. Glancing up he didn’t see Imp anywhere, probably off stealing treats from the kitchens. Great, he’d have to get the parts himself.

Entrapta watched him leave and couldn’t get over to the tank fast enough. Emily beeped hopelessly for her to come back.

Entrapta looking into the tanks of water, but she didn’t recognize any of the inner workings she was seeing. Picking up the data bank she could make out several formulas displaying on the screen. She reached into one of her pockets and quickly got to work fixing the cracked bank. Glancing up she watched as one of the pipes in the tank released a stream of bubbles and then closed its valve automatically.

“What are you doing in here?”

Entrapta turned around, coming nose to stomach with the vampire lord glaring down at her. “These are molecule splitting tanks!”

“Entrapta, these are very delicate tanks, not to be-”

“I had wondered why there was so much water being piped through the castle, you’re bringing it up here to split into hydrogen!” She cheered happily. “But why, what do you need so much fuel for?! This is a massive collection system.”

“Entrapta!” He snapped.

“Oh- focus, sorry.” She set the data bank down on the ledge of the tank and gave him her attention.

Hordak sighed, rubbing the ridge above his nasal cavity. “Entrapta, what are you doing in here?”

“I was on my way to the library when I heard the water in the pipes. I must not have noticed the first time I was up here.”

“These tanks are very delicate.” He picked up the data bank but paused upon realizing it had been fixed. He looked down at her. “You’ve seen tanks like this before?”

“I have a smaller one in Dryl. Nothing this fancy though. Those gold and silver coils that run your electrical current are expensive.”

“True, but I do not have the luxury of solar powered batteries here.”

“I tried solar power but I needed a steadier source. So I replaced the coil with nickel.”

Hordak felt like he had just been hit in the head with a sledgehammer. “Nickel?”

“Sure, if you replace all of the coils with nickel you’ll get a steadier electrical current. That doesn’t answer my question.” She looked around at all of the pipes filled with water. “What do you need all of this fuel for? Even with your fleet of vehicles you would offset the power sources with the crystals you make here. Hydrogen is highly explosive, you would need to be propelling something. Like a rocket, but even then you could just use the crystals to predetermine a flight path. Unless the flight path would be disrupted. I’ve never tested the effects of an airborne crystal before.”

“How soon could you replace these coils?”

Entrapta snapped out of her line of thought and looked up at the vampire. “Dryl has a large supply of it that I can arrange to be shipped immediately. As soon as it arrives we can close these pipes, drain the tanks and I estimate an hour of maintenance each. We would have to run tests on each of them after insulation of course to make sure that everything works.”

“I’ll have the shipping order sent.”

She couldn’t deny that working on these tanks would be amazing. They were unlike the take she had in Dryll. “This much hydrogen would only be useful for an ignition…” Her eyes widened. “You are building a rocket!! But a space rocket!” She reached out and grabbed his arms, holding him there to demand answers.

Hordak had been a moment from backing away when she grabbed him. He tried to follow her train of thought. He hadn’t met a single Etherian who even thought space travel was a conceivable notion. “A probe. Not a rocket by design.” He corrected. “I do not intend for it to be manned.”

Entrapta squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “A probe?! How far are you sending it? Why do you need such a large amount of fuel? Does that relate to the distance? Have you tested its launch factors? How will you collect data from it? If it attached orbital velocity you could have the data flow from it reporting from every crystal on Etheria! ”

The vampire growled, pulling his arms free. “A satellite relay system is already in orbit above Etheria, if I wished to access it, I would not need to send the probe.”

Entrapta could hardly contain her excitement. “Let me help you!”

Hordak blinked in surprise. “What?”

“Creating a launch system for a space probe might be the most scientifically exciting thing I have ever heard of!”

He glanced at the databank she had repaired, then at the molecule splitting tanks he was giving her leave to work on. “It is not a complex project. My materials are… subpar.”

She looked at the silver coils inside of the tank and couldn’t imagine what he was talking about. “You have the probe built?”

“I am only missing the crystal to be put inside.” He turned and gestured for her to follow him.

She had to skip to keep up with his long strides but didn’t complain. A space probe, a hydrogen igniting bomb to set it off, a crystal- “Is that what Catra and Scorpia are going after in the Valley of the Lost?”

He nodded. “Yes. The crystal they are retrieving has a very specific frequency.” He lead her through the back of the lab and down a set of stairs that spiraled around to empty out into a small passageway. He placed his hand over a panel and a light scanned across it before it beeped and the stone wall opened up into another room. This room, like the throne room, was lit by candles. The stone walls were isolated with more tapestries displaying the geometric bat designs before they gave way to glass.

Entrapta rushed ahead to look out of the windows but instead of seeing the sprawling landscape of the Fright Zone she was surprised to find plants. “Is this a garden?”  
“It is my private conservatory. The plants inside are rare and some are even extinct outside of those walls.” The vampire explained. He motioned away from the glass walls toward a door at the far end of the room. “The probe is this way.”

The door opened up to a long stone hallway that had windows along its ceiling. She could see the spiraling black clouds above them clearly this high up and there seemed to be small sparks of lightning among the swirling mass. She had dozens of theories about the atmosphere above the Fright Zone, but none she had been able to test. “This cloud cover will prove difficult to launch through, is that the main reason for the amount of fuel?”

“It is one of the reasons, yes.” Hordak stopped at the door at the end of the long hallway and pushed it open. They were in a tall tower made of iron bars and glass panels. In the center of the room was the metal probe, pipes connecting it to tanks beneath them.

Entrapta knew the importance of lab safety. Gloves and goggles and proper protocols were all very important to survive the scientific process. At this exact moment she estimated she was standing on top of nearly a dozen hydrogen tanks and right below a lightning storm. Any second now they could egnite and the entire tower along with the hallway and castle wall would be gone in a fiery explosion.

Hordak watched the woman as she stood paralyzed at the doorway. “You do not have to fear. The tanks are currently empty. I would not risk an explosion by storing the fuel here.”

She instantly relaxed and then rushed forward to examine the probe further. “You have a trajectory correcting expulsion pipes along the sides. That’s a clever way to correct the course once it's released from the fuel tanks. How are you planning to calculate its path?”

“The boosters are pre programmed to ignite at certain points after lift off.” He drew her attention to a screen with the trajectory calculated out. “If the variables fall into place then the rocket will work perfectly.”

She read over the notes he had scribbled along the screen and paused. Most of it she could make out, but the rest of it. “This is written in Ancient One.”  
He shrugged. “Some of their dialog is more convenient in this instance.”

She glanced back at him. “Everything I’ve read about vampires says they are long lived… but the Ancient Ones existed long before them. How do you know their language enough to have a whole library of it? How can you know it well enough to write your notes in it?”

He scoffed. “Who says the Ancient Ones existed before vampires?”

“But there’s no records of vampires in the Ancient One’s texts.” She paused, trying to think of any she might have misinterpreted. “The last of them died out thousands of years ago… you’re not that... old… right?” She did not like guessing like this. She preferred her knowledge based on facts.

He snorted, turning his head so he wouldn’t laugh. “No. I am not a thousand years old.” He grinned wide enough to show red fangs. “Several hundreds, but that is all.”  
No wonder he was proficient in writing their language. She was only twenty seven and had limited access to it until now. She looked over the probe. “So, the crystal from the Valley, that will be put inside. What does it do?”

“It matches the frequency of something else. That’s all you need to know to help with this project.”

She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. “Keeping part of your project a secret is a good way for it to blow up in our faces.”

“Princess, be happy with what I am allowing you to access. If your work continues to show improvement I will not object to your further helping me. For now. I do not need you distracted from the advancement of the Fright Zone weapons. That is why you are here.”

Entrapta sighed. This was much more interesting than a few canon bots. She would just have to study the crystal when it was brought back. For now she had to wait for the nickel to come in and finish her translations. She looked over the screen again, trying to spell out the words he had written that she didn’t know. “Wait, these aren’t calculations.” She touched one of the notes and looked back at him with wide eyes. “This says Starport!”

He shrugged. “So it does.”

“That’s one of the translations EBS recorded in the Forbidden Zone! Primeline Starport. What is it?!” Whatever she had said seemed to finally faze him and he stood up a little straighter.

“Force Captain Catra’s report did not include this.”

“I hadn’t finished my translations in time to include them in the report.” She marched over to him and the vampire nearly stumbled back as she grabbed his arms again. “What is a Starport and what does it have to do with this probe?”

He blinked down at her. How was she doing this? He had ruled the Fright Zone for over a hundred years and no one dared speak this way to him! He would have mistaken her tone for anger if he wasn’t getting used to seeing the excitement in her eyes. It made them almost sparkle. “A Starport serves the same purpose as any port here on Etheria, except it is suspended in orbit.”

Entrapta had to release his arms, her excitement was too much to contain and she flapped her hands. “FOR STARSHIPS! IN SPACE!” Space travel was theoretical at best! Nothing on Etheria was capable of leaving the planet’s gravity. “You’re from space.” She said breathlessly, looking up at him. She looked over him, this time trying to figure out which of his features were alien and which were more vampiric. She didn’t have any bases for comparison though. Was it his eyes? Or his ears? Did space vampires look different then Etherian vampires? She watched as his long ears twitched and dropped. What did that mean?

Hordak huffed, trying to look anywhere but down at the woman in front of him. At this angle he could see straight down the front of her dress. “Correct.”

“Why are you on Etheria?”

“I am unable to return to my ship currently.” He bit out, glaring down at her then away.

“Your ship… You have a SPACESHIP!” She yelled excitedly. “A real spaceship.” She nearly purred. All of that technology! “Wait- what do you mean you are unable to return?”

He motioned to the otherside of the room that was half hidden behind screens and desks covered with papers and books. She hadn’t noticed it before because the probe had been so enticing, but she quickly rushed over to it now. Behind the probe and the wall of decorative iron bars there was a massive telescope. She had a telescope in her lab at home, but she didn’t use it for more than basic start charting and meteor showers. This one was so big it took up most of the space and even had a chair to sit in to get a better angle. “Can you see it through the cloud cover?”

“I have accounted for the atmosphere when I calibrated the crystal into a lens.” He said as he walked over. He climbed up and looked through the eyepiece before adjusting the telescope with a gear at its side. Entrapta did everything she could to stay calm while she waited for him to finish and move out of the way.

She climbed up and plopped down in the seat, eagerly looking through the lens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who's stuck around! I have this story planned out and will be continuing it as I have time until the end. Now that the show had concluded I wanted to say I will be changing the shipping tags on this story to reflect the canon ships of the show. I know this is an AU that is very different from the plot of the show, but I want to keep everyone in character as best I can and I think that one thing I can do to maintain that is to keep the characters in their canon ships.  
> -Also, from this point on I will be vastly diverging from the plot to introduce some monsters into this story that I have had in mind since the beginning.  
> -This is still Entrapdak focused, they will get more time together from now on.


End file.
